Sparkling Lies
by WolvenGoddess
Summary: Rose and Scorpius were best friends. Until a line was crossed. A year and a half later, Rose is still hurting from Scorpius' actions, attempting to deal with the pain in her own ways. Whether her methods were successful or not is still the question. So when he decides to breach the gap, she can't even begin to fathom his reasoning. Please review! It's my first story!
1. First Day Back

**First Day Back**

There was nothing I hated more than the first night back at Hogwarts. Feeling nauseous from the train ride – _damn motion sickness_ – always put me in a foul mood.

Dozens of conversations go on around me, everyone catching up with their friends after summer holidays and swapping stories. The near-deafening roar was irritating, adding to my bad mood.

I sit by myself, as I have done for the last couple years, staring down at my plate. Most of it was untouched; only the leafy green lettuce of my salad had been tentatively picked at. Just the thought of eating it had me turning green.

Pushing my plate away in disgust, I scan the hall through the strands of auburn hair falling across my face. Students everywhere are talking to their neighbours, or yelling down the table at someone. The more rambunctious ones, of course, had the flaming red hair marking them as Weasley, or occasionally the jet-black hair of the Potters. Honestly, you would think they were raised by wolves.

It's sometimes so embarrassing to know that I was related to them. Yeah, that's right; I'm a freckled, redheaded Weasley. Rose Weasley, actually. Not quite as loud-mouthed as my brother and cousins, but still definitely related.

I didn't realise who in particular I was looking for until I spotted Albus sitting with his girlfriend, Alexandria, over at the Slytherin table. Yeah I know, we were all shocked when he was sorted. When it had finally come to my turn I had been so afraid I was destined for the same fate.

The object of my attentions was sitting on the other side of Albus. The top couple buttons of his white school shirt were undone and his green and silver tie was loosened and crooked. The shirt strained in certain places across his broad shoulders, chest and arms, leaving no doubt as to the muscular glory sure to be underneath. The slightly full mouth was void of a smirk for the moment but there was no question it wouldn't be long before it returned. A slight shadow covered the lower half of his face, indicating slight stubble that was too pale to really see. It, like the shoulder-length hair on his head, was platinum blonde, making him stand out quite a bit in a crowd of mostly dark haired students. His arrogant personality and ego helped him stand out the rest of the time. Finally bringing myself to look at his gorgeous grey eyes, I feel a jolt of surprise as I lock gazes with him.

As if to just prove that I am my father's daughter, my face immediately goes flaming red. I look back down at my plate, not quite missing the smirk he flashed my way.

It hasn't even been one day back and I've already made a fool of myself. Why did I have to look at him? It only encouraged more embarrassment on my behalf. Sighing, I get up, grabbing my bag and slip out of the Great Hall. I doubt anyone would have noticed.

They're all always much too absorbed in their own lives for that. Maybe Al would have noticed, but these days it wasn't exactly abnormal for me to ditch dinner early. He was my oldest friend, the only one who had actually stuck by me over the years. Sure, he had a girlfriend now, and we had become less close lately, but he was still there for me when I needed him. If it hadn't been for the fact that he was in Slytherin, we might have been even closer. When your best friend/cousin is disliked by your own house, it kind of puts a damper on things. Not to mention the fact that his best friend is none other than Scorpius Malfoy.

Scorpius fucking Malfoy. The hottest guy in our year, and the most inclined toward debauchery, if his past _relationships_ were any indication.

I stopped that train of thought in its tracks before it crashed into the brick wall surrounding my memories and promptly exploded.

I deliberated for a minute at the foot of the stairs, unsure where I really wanted to go. Making up my mind, I climbed up to the second floor landing and disappeared behind a portrait. I went down a corridor then turned left at the end, then right at the end of the next one. I found myself in a wide, empty corridor flooded with the moonlight streaming in through the large windows at the end. It was such a serene atmosphere, I could practically feel my worries bleeding away. Dropping my bag at the foot of the wall of glass, I dug out my drawing book and favourite pencil.

I settled myself cross-legged on the stone floor, a blank page open in front of me.

The drawing started out rough, not really amounting to much, but as the minutes passed a face began to form. My eyes weren't really focused, my hand moving across the page to add details, shadowing. A shade darker here, a highlight added there. Any mistakes I made, I used my wand to erase. After an hour it was finally finished and I kind of just sat there for a minute looking at it.

Why did I have to do this to myself? Seriously. How pathetic could I possibly get? I ripped the page out of the book, screwing it up in my hand as I stood. I shoved my stuff back in my bag and slung it over my shoulder, mentally abusing myself. May as well head back to my common room. Everyone else was probably still at dinner so hopefully no one would notice me coming in. Passing a smouldering torch, I dropped the crumbled paper in it and didn't look back as I made my way to the Gryffindor common room.

Other students were still making their way to the common room from dinner and I was thankful, having remembered that I hadn't stuck around to find out the password. The Fat Lady was singing some horrid ballad and refused to stop when told the password. Other portraits adjacent to her were holding their hands over their ears. After the password was said for the third time she finally stopped that God awful sound to let us in, grumbling something about no one appreciating her talents.

The common room was still relatively empty. Most people had probably already gone to bed or weren't back from dinner yet. I went up the spiral stairs to the sixth year girls' dorm. What a brilliant start to the year. My old friends were still pretending that I don't exist, which was evident on the train ride when I was stuck sitting in a compartment with some third years. All holidays I had been forcing cheerfulness for my parents and family, but now that I'm confined to the walls of Hogwarts once again…

"Ugh." I muttered, opening the door to my shared room.

"Oh. Hey, Rose." Holly McLaggen looked up from her unpacking to smile nervously at me. We had never been very close or anything, but at least she was nice enough to acknowledge my existence.

I returned her smile. "Hey, Holly. How was your holidays?" That was a fairly safe topic, right? I was so out of practice with the whole socialising thing, I had no idea anymore. I tried to read the names on the trunks at the end of each bed, trying to find mine.

"Yeah, it was good. Got a job part-time at the Ministry, just to kill some time," she said, and we both laughed. "How about yours?" she asked, just as I found my trunk. _I guess this is my bed then_, I thought, checking the name on the trunk at the foot of the bed closest to the bathroom. There it was, in bold letters, R. J. WEASLEY.

I thought over my holidays quickly. "It was pretty boring. My parents just about drove me crazy, though." As I was just about to straighten up, a little white fur ball launched itself at me from under the bed. I giggled as I clutched my kitten to my chest. Big gray eyes stared up at me, as if she was reprimanding me for being out so long. I had named my little fluff ball Aphrodite because she managed to make everyone who met her fall in love with her immediately. Definitely one of the better birthday presents my parents have given me.

Holly gazed longingly at my kitten. "I wish my parents would let me have a cat, but Dad's allergic to them."

"She is pretty cute," I said.

Setting Aphrodite down on my bed, I dug out some comfortable clothes; a loose gray sweater, pink and gray patterned tights and my favourite Muggle clothing item, ugg boots. It wasn't quite cold weather yet but the halls still got pretty chilly.

Giving Aphrodite a last pat, and a quiet goodbye to Holly, I slipped back downstairs and out the portrait door. I had a place in mind that I wanted to go, but I had to be careful that Filch and his stupid cat didn't catch me out of my common room. Rules may not be so tight anymore, but that didn't mean much to the old wart.

The corridors were pretty much black but I didn't want to risk lighting my wand, so I had to feel my way through the near dark. That was okay though. After so many years of being a slight insomniac, I was able to find my way fairly easily. I bypassed the Astronomy Tower (no doubt there would be a couple up there doing who-knows-what) and headed towards the entrance to one of the smaller towers. This led to a tiny room with a spiral staircase leading to the top. In the shadows, there was also a spiral staircase going _down_, and that was the one I followed. I'm unsure how long it took me but I eventually halted in front of a door. Smiling to myself I pushed it open and was rewarded by a blast of cold wind.

I was standing on a balcony on the east side of the castle, overlooking part of the Forbidden Forest. I walked along it, reaching yet another door. This one led instead to a cozy little room and I smiled, enjoying the scent the room seemed to always have. Like a mixture of cinnamon and vanilla. I loved it. The fireplace in the corner emitted warmth enough to engulf the whole room, but I settled onto the love seat in front of it anyway. I lay on my back, looking up at the ornately carved ceiling. Not many people noticed, but the ceilings of Hogwarts displayed some of the finest art in the world.

There were a few oak bookcases by the window that held dusty old books and manuscripts and a few odd looking ornaments. I wasn't all that keen on touching those, when I had been told stories about cursed jewellery cases and statuettes, but I did inspect the books and found they were very interesting. I doubted these had ever been in the school library; they seemed more like someone's personal reading materials. Whomever it was who put them here had obviously long left Hogwarts, judging by the mildew I had found on their leather spines. A desk sat to the left of the bookcases, underneath another window. A lamp sat on it, positioned just so, allowing for easy reading.

It was so comfortable and warm where I was, and I was in no hurry whatsoever to leave. I must have fallen asleep because next thing I know I've rolled off the loveseat and landed in a rather undignified way on my arse.

Pulling myself to my feet, I notice the fire had almost completely gone out, with only glowing golden embers left. I pulled back my sleeve and tried to read my watch in the dark. I ended up having to light my wand so I could read it. It was well past four in the morning, about time I made my way back. The light glinted off the small diamonds that lined the rim of the watch and accented each number. It had been a gift for my fifteenth birthday, from an old friend.

The walk back to my dorm was slow; I mostly dawdled, looking out each window I passed. I thought I heard something rustling behind me, so I slowed, subconsciously cocking my head to the side. The darkness must be getting to me and making me hear things. I shook my head and continued to the common room.

"Oof!" I walked straight into something solid that was blocking my path. What the hell? I don't remember a wall being here. I squinted up at whatever it was, just faintly making out the outline of something – or more accurately, someone – standing in front of me. Oh fuck, what if it's a teacher?

I was just beginning to freak out completely when I heard a deep chuckle and an awfully familiar voice come from a foot above my head. "Knowing you, you're probably freaking out right now thinking I'm a teacher."

My worry immediately dissolved into anger. "_Lumos_." I muttered furiously, illuminating the smirking face of Scorpius Malfoy.

I glared up at him, "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Hey, tone down the animosity! _You're _the one who walked into _me_, remember?" he crossed his arms defiantly over his chest, only managing to make him look like a cranky child. I force myself to stifle the giggle bubbling up in my throat, biting my lip to distract myself. Even with the childish mannerisms, he was still God damn good looking.

"Well, why are you prowling the halls at this time, anyway?" I demand, pushing past him and continuing down the hall.

Of course, with his damn long legs he kept up easily, only managing to aggravate me further.

"Just going for a walk," he replied calmly.

"On the seventh floor?" I ask dubiously. "I would have thought a stroll in the Forbidden Forest would be more your style."

"Well you would know best," he replied. I look up at him sharply. Oh we are so not going to discuss this.

"Clearly I don't really know you as well as I thought I did," I snap. "I don't know _what_ your problem is, but I have no interest in talking to you. Not now, not ever. Not after last year. So if you would please excuse me!" Ashamedly, I'm fair sure I basically ran the rest of the way to the tower, only stopping to growl the password at the Fat Lady.

Slipping into my dorm, I collapse onto my bed and stare up at the canopy.

Finally deciding against sleep around dawn, I drag myself out of bed and brace myself against the early morning chill. I had always found it ridiculous that they thought we should be restricted to a single trunk, so as soon as I had been old enough to learn the charm, I packed multiple trunks and shrunk them. I would then place them in the main one, mightily proud of myself. Seriously, who was expected to fit everything needed for a whole year into one standard-sized trunk without forgetting something important?

I open my trunk, pulling out a few smaller ones as well as my leather school bag. I really needed to unpack, but that wasn't going to happen at six o'clock in the morning.

Most of the school was still sleeping by the time I was dressed, so I was down in the Great Hall before any of my dorm mates were even stirring. It was becoming a warm morning under the sun (technically the enchanted ceiling) so I had thrown my robes over the seat beside me, exposing the white school shirt and gray plaid skirt I usually wore underneath. The gorgeous black leather heels I wore tapped against the floor under the table in time to the beat I had stuck in my head. I already really missed music.

I was leaning on the table, my long red hair slung over my shoulder, flipping through my Charms textbook. I had already read it before school started of course, but with classes starting today I wanted to make sure I was prepared. I was top in all my classes last year, sometimes tying with Scorpius, but still the best out of all my cousins. That's all that really mattered; I needed to outshine them in _something_. James already took Quidditch captain and Victorie and Dominique were the fashion queens of Hogwarts before they graduated, and I swear every other Weasley/Potter is in some club or other. Not to mention all the stuff our parents accomplished when they were at school.

Too bad my obsession with succeeding had cost me any friends I had managed to procure. My family still talked to me and included me in everything at home, but aside from that they basically just got on with their own lives.

And Scorpius … well that was a bridge that had gone up in flames long ago.

So involved in my thoughts as I was, I didn't notice someone was standing next to me until they cleared their throat. My head whipped up so fast I probably strained a muscle in my neck. I stared with wide eyes at my lanky cousin.

"Al?" I asked, confused, "What are you doing here?" I looked around for his girlfriend, Alexandria, but only saw a couple of Hufflepuffs stumbling toward their table and a perky Ravenclaw eating by herself at the Slytherin table.

Al ran a hand through his already messy hair and looked a bit sheepish. "I was just, uh, wondering if I could maybe sit with you?"

I kind of just sat there blinking at him for a minute, my thoughts stuttering like a broken record.

"Rose?" Poor Albus was looking a bit uncomfortable as I sat there staring at him. Pull yourself together woman! I scolded myself.

"Oh. Uh, sure." Yeah, brilliant reply Rose. You can totally see why I'm top in my class. I moved my robes over to the other side of me along with my beloved leather bag. In my hurry to move them, I dropped the bag on the floor, spilling the contents all over the place. Inkpots and pencils went everywhere and my drawing book landed open at Al's feet. "Shit!" I exclaimed, scrambling to pick everything up.

"What's this?" Al asked. Ow! I had banged my head on the table while trying to retrieve my makeup case.

"What?" I grumbled, stuffing everything back in my bag. He didn't answer so I looked up, annoyed at the shitty start to the day, and froze where I sat. He was holding my drawing book, slowly flipping through it. I had never ever shown anyone my sketches and I didn't know if I liked it or not that my cousin was looking at something I had kept private for so long.

I didn't realise I'd been holding my breath until Al looked down at me with a huge smile, "Rose, these are brilliant! I never knew you were so good at drawing!" My breath left me in a relived sigh. Shrugging, I got to my feet. Do you know how difficult it is to stand up while wearing heels and trying not to flash your underwear to the whole room?

"Yes well, that's what happens when you have no friends, I guess." I mumbled, taking my book back and stuffing it in my bag. By now students were filing into the hall and Al was bound to be heading back over to his house table and his girlfriend. I sat back down like I was before and put a pile of fruit salad on my otherwise empty plate, although I had no intention of eating it.

"You know that Scorpius and I are here for you if you need us." I couldn't have been more surprised when I heard that and then a thump and felt the bench move a bit as Al settled onto the seat beside me. I stared at him, eyes wide and confused. This isn't what was supposed to happen. Nothing like this had happened in over a year! A cold feeling settled over me. What if this was some sort of sick joke? It's true that I hadn't really been close to my cousin in a bit over a year, but surely he wouldn't stoop so low as to do this.

"So, what's up?" I flinched when Al spoke, afraid my inner rambling could actually be true.

"Uh, not much? Where's Alexandria?" The last bit kind of came out without my brain really permitting it.

The look on Al's face turned even more awkward. "She kind of broke up with me."

Wait, what? I did a double take there. I had so not been expecting that.

"Oh." Yet another eloquent reply from Rose Weasley. Mentally slapping myself, I scrutinised Al's face. There was definitely a bit of sadness there, in the way his mouth turned down at the corners and in the tightness around his eyes.

"I'm really sorry to hear that Al. I know how close you two were." I said softly, trying not to show how awkward this was for me. This conversation was only bringing up more bad memories.

"Not as close as we were," he says, smiling wryly.

"Yeah… I'd better get to class, don't want to be late first day back!" Before I could let him respond, I grabbed my bag and robes and jumped up, proceeding to hurry out of the Great Hall.

I am such a coward, I couldn't help thinking. As soon as your ex-best friend starts talking to you, you bolt! My mind flashed back to last night in the hall with Scorpius. God, I'm getting a lot of practice at this.

Quickly checking my bag, I swore. I hadn't stayed at the table long enough to collect my timetable from whichever teacher handed it out. I looked around, scarcely hoping there would be someone in my house and year who could tell me what I had today. Typically, I was alone. This was going to be beyond embarrassing.

Taking a deep breath, I turned on my heel and stalked back into the Great Hall, pausing only briefly to figure out which teacher had the timetables. As I walked up to Professor Longbottom, I saw out of the corner of my eye Al sitting at the Slytherin table, deep in conversation with Scorpius. I could see them watching me and I was determined not to make it obvious I was looking at them.

"Excited to get to your first class, Miss Weasley?" Uncle Neville smiled at me as he tapped a piece of parchment with his wand and handed it to me.

I returned his smile, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Walking back down the aisle of students wasn't as difficult this time round, but I made sure to step carefully so as not to fall on my face. A few of them gave me weird looks as I walked past, no doubt having noticed the spectacle I made of myself not five minutes earlier.

Once out the door and safe from prying eyes once again, I memorized my timetable. Double charms first. I could deal with that.

The whole way there, all I could hear was the clicking of my heels against the stone floor and it soothed me. The corridors were a bit chilly in this part of the castle so I slipped my robes on, but left them undone at the front. I shook my hair out so it fell down my back in soft auburn curls.

Because of my leaving the Hall early, I got to class before Professor Flitwick was even there. Story of my life much.

One definite benefit of getting to class early was sitting where ever I liked, without having to choose out of the leftover undesirable seats. I settle into a seat at the back, ignoring the stereotype of nerds always sitting in the front row. I organise my parchment and ink on the table before settling back with my drawing book. Flipping through the pages, I noticed one I couldn't remember drawing. It was the profile of a guy, most of the features in shadow, as though he was in a dark room. I could just make out mussed up hair, matriarchal nose, slight curve of the lips into a smirk…

When I realise who it was I almost drop the book. I thought I'd thrown these all away! Did Al see this one when he was looking through? I was just about to rip the page out when a voice behind me stopped me cold.

"Is that me?" Although my shoulders tensed in embarrassment, I couldn't help but feel shocked at the hint of pleased surprise in Scorpius' voice.

Not trusting myself to speak, I just shrugged non-committedly and snapped the book shut. I was about to shove it back in my bag, hair thankfully hanging in my face to hide my blush, when a tanned, masculine hand placed itself over mine. I would know that hand anywhere. I had spent six years wanting to draw it, attempt to capture the perfect bone structure encased under a delicate layer of skin. In all that time, I had only brought myself to draw his face, unwilling to let any feature be forgotten.

I slowly lifted my head to look at him, reluctant to see what I feared was there. What I saw instead shocked me.

Admiration.

I wasn't expecting _that_.

Scorpius met my gaze steadily. "Why didn't you ever tell me you could draw like that?" My heart leapt, threatening to spill out of my mouth with whatever I said next.

Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I managed to speak. "I didn't think you would be interested." I looked down at the hand that was still placed over mine and he seemed to take the hint and took it away. I ignored the fluttering in my stomach as his fingers brushed mine. Unexpectedly, he grabbed the drawing book and straightened, flipping it open.

"Don't!" I tried to lunge for it, but he just held it out of my reach with a smirk. I scowled, crossing my arms over my chest.

When we had been friends, I wouldn't have had a second thought before tackling him to the ground to get it back, but no way was I going to do that now. As much as I might long to have that familiarity with him again, I know I cannot allow it. I do not think my heart could take it. I watch, resigned, as he examined each page carefully, mixed emotions flickering over his face with each one.

When he reached the one that is unmistakably him, he pauses and I see he wants to say something.

"I drew it that night, when, you know." My voice broke at the end, much to my dismay, and I turned in my chair to fully face the front. If I was going to cry, he was not going to see it.

There had been a time when we had been on the verge of something more than friendship. Despite my misgivings, I had given more of myself to him than was a good idea. We had fallen over the brink and now I was suffering through the consequences.

I guess Scorp remembered too, judging by the tinge of pink I could see on his cheeks out of the corner of my eye.

How unfortunate we could never go back to that, I thought. I watched the teacher and students enter the room and start the class. For some reason that completely baffled me, Scorpius sat down in the seat next to me and began to make himself comfortable. Plopping his bag on the floor, he dug out his parchment and quills, oblivious to the incredulous stare I was aiming at him.

He turned and saw me looking, raising his eyebrows. "What?"

I shook my head, tuning back in to what Flitwick was saying about pre-cautions to charms going wrong. Scorpius and I didn't talk for the rest of the lesson, just listening and writing lengthy notes. At times I would get distracted, watching the way his hand would deftly form bold but surprisingly elegant letters on the parchment. Each time I would have to snap myself out of it, scolding myself.

By the end of the double lesson, I was significantly ruffled. Without looking at Scorpius, I collected my stuff and headed for the library. I was in no way expecting him to also have a free period, let alone for him to catch up with me and walk beside me.

"You can borrow my notes if you need to." Scorpius offered. "I noticed you were a bit distracted."

Was I that obvious?

"No thanks," I replied shortly. Oh yes, he would just _love_ for me to need his help, I thought meanly.

He was quiet for a minute. "You know, I never meant for it to become like this." He said it so softly I almost didn't hear him over the screaming in my head. My heart thumped uncomfortably at his words, uncertain where this would lead.

"Why is it like this then?" I ask quietly, turning to face him.

We just stood there and stared at each other for a minute. Even wearing heels I had quite a way to look up.

I finally turned away, not being able to bear the tension between us any longer.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, refusing to look at him as I said it. Seeing the hurt in his stormy grey eyes would just be too much for my already frazzled nerves. I jumped when I felt a hand on my arm and I looked questioningly back up at Scorpius.

"Why are you apologising?" he asks, frowning. "It was all me. I didn't want to get closer than we already had because I didn't want to end up hurting you," An intense, but pained look came over his face. "I know now it's too late for that, but… You know what my family is like. My grandparents are just as prejudiced and awful as they were thirty years ago and they still have plenty of influence over my mother and father. I didn't want to draw you into that."

I was kind of shocked by what Scorp said, but at the same time I had an intense desire to slap him. Of course he wouldn't want me to be anything more than his friend. His family would never approve of a half-blood like me.

"What does it matter what they think?" I demanded, aggravation again building behind my breastbone. I was so sick of old prejudices against my family and our bloodlines. Why couldn't they just accept the fact that this was a new era and people no longer acted like that? When Scorp just looked at me with a blank expression, I huffed and turned away.

"It's more than too late for not wanting to hurt me. That damage was already done," I said to him before continuing on my way to the library.

I chose a seat in-between the stacks of books at the back, not willing to have people staring at the back of my head. Much to my unwilling disappointment, Scorpius did not seem to have followed me the rest of the way here.


	2. New Problems, Old Answers

**New Problems, Old Answers**

The first week back went by at a painfully slow pace. We had a mountain of homework to start off the year, and I'd already been in several awkward situations involving Scorpius.

One particular incident occurred while I was outside, on the banks of the lake, when he found me. I was stretched out against a tree, my denim jeans at risk of staining green from the grass, my death-trap shoes tossed to the side. I was drawing, just sketches of birds and trees that I could see from where I was sitting.

It was quite peaceful, listening to the chirping birds and the gentle lapping of the water on the shores of the lake.

"I hope that's another drawing of me," said Scorpius as he lowered himself down next to me. Rolling my eyes, I tilted the book towards him.

"As you can see, there are no unnatural blonds here," I quipped, flipping the book closed.

Scorpius feigned hurt, clutching a hand to his heart and adopting a wounded expression. I resisted his charm with great effort and kept up my façade. "Are you sure there aren't more in this mysterious book of yours?" he asked, reaching over to pick it up.

I slapped his hand away. "That was the one and only." No way could he possibly know I was lying.

Scorpius smirked at me slightly and, reaching into the pocket of his jeans, pulled out a folded – and very crumpled – piece of paper.

Oh please no, I silently begged.

He unfolded it slowly and I could clearly see the slightly charred edges. My face went bright red.

"Are you sure that's the only one? Because this one looks strangely like me, too."

I glared at Scorpius. He was enjoying my embarrassment way too much.

"It's not my fault you have a good bone structure," I mutter. I knew I should have burnt the damn thing properly.

I stood up and wiped the grass off my butt, "Anyway, how is it that you can be perfectly fine with not speaking to me for a week and then one day you're acting like nothing happened?" I crossed my arms over my chest, hoping in spite of myself that he noticed how good I looked in jeans and a silk blouse. Much to my disappointment, his eyes stayed firmly on my face. Damn his chivalrous self.

"I told you, I want us to be friends again," he said, standing and tucking his hands into his jeans pockets and shrugging. "What's so bad about that?"

Ummm, maybe the fact that I wouldn't be able to restrain my passion and lust for you if we were ever alone in a room together? Deciding that probably wasn't the best idea, I tried something honest yet appropriate instead. "I would like to be friends too, Scorp, but I don't know if I can pretend like nothing happened between us." I bent down to collect my shoes and bag, yet again avoiding eye contact for as long as possible.

When I did look at Scorpius, he was smirking at me. "What?" I demanded, wondering if my shirt had somehow unbuttoned (while thinking that wouldn't be so bad).

"You haven't called me Scorp in a while," he said, eyes twinkling. I laughed despite myself, punched him in the arm and walked bare-footed back to the castle.

* * *

My second encounter with Scorpius was two days later in Potions. Our teacher, Professor Merida, is new to Hogwarts and therefore must be excused from her following mistakes. For the first project of the year, we were sorted into pairs to complete the task. Of course, she made the rookie mistake of pairing Scorpius and I together, which all the other teachers know better than to do. Professor Merida then followed that mistake up by saying that we were required to work together on the theoretical side of the project outside of class as well.

In some ways, this made me happy; in most ways, it created a problem.

I had started the year promising myself that I wouldn't give Scorpius the power to hurt me again. But when you are forced to spend more and more of your time in a person's company – especially when they begin to be the only person you spend time with – you start to relax.

To me, this wasn't good. Scorpius was more than accomplished at making me laugh and smile, as I should have known very well. This proved irritating when I was trying to stay mad at him.

"Can you pass me those crushed beetles, Rose?" Scorpius asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, sorry," I passed him the ingredients and tried my best not to let my eyes linger on his exposed forearms. The classroom tended to get humid while potion making, so Scorpius had discarded his robe and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt a while ago.

This was proving very distracting for me indeed. On several occasions Scorpius had to point out that I had given him the wrong ingredients and asked at least five times if I wanted him to crush the porcupine quills while I added them to the cauldron. By the end of the class I was certain that at this rate I was going to fail the year.

Determined, I cornered Professor Merida by her desk while the rest of the students filed out of the classroom.

"Professor. Sorry to keep you, but I was wondering if perhaps I could swap partners with someone? Anyone?" I added desperately.

Merida looked regretful and I knew what was coming. "I'm sorry Miss Weasley, but once I have chosen the pairs and submitted them to the school files, it cannot be undone." I opened my mouth to say that it wasn't set in stone when she held up a hand to stop me. "Perhaps in the earlier years matters such as these are fairly flexible but at such a delicate time in your schooling life, I am afraid I cannot make allowances."

Struggling to keep a calm expression, I thanked her sullenly and stalked out of the classroom. Much to my dismay, it seemed as though Scorpius had waited for me outside in the hallway.

"What? Stalking me now?" I was far too annoyed to bother with being polite. If my comment had offended Scorpius, his grin definitely didn't show it.

"Your request didn't go down well then?" he asked cheekily, "I guess you'll be stuck with me for the next five weeks then." He then grabbed my hand and pulled me along down the hallway. The sudden feeling of his touch was a shock to my system.

"But this isn't the way to the Great Hall," I protested, "I'll miss lunch!"

Scorpius gave me a funny look, "Lunch was over two hours ago."

"Oh."

We walked in silence for a few minutes and I was painfully aware that my hand was still clasped firmly in his. After a while, he looked down at me, probably concerned at the fact that for once I didn't seem to have anything to say. "Are you okay, Rose? You don't really seem yourself." He sounded so genuinely caring that I think my heart actually skipped a beat.

"I'm fine," I tried forcing a smile, but somehow I don't think he bought it. I sighed, "It's just weird. Last week Al started to talk to me again, then you seem to pop up wherever I am, and now I'm spacing out in one of my favourite classes. Could it possibly get any worse?" I stopped for breath, inwardly cursing myself for telling him what was on my mind.

"I can see how that would be weird, but it's nothing to freak out over, Rose."

"Are you serious? To me, failing a class is like losing a Quidditch match for you." It was true, Scorpius loved his role as the seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch team, and typical for any male, in my opinion, he hated to lose.

He smirked, "Maybe you just need to chill out a bit."

"Chill out?" I raised my eyebrows at him, "I don't think my definition of 'chill out' is quite the same as yours."

Scorpius grinned at me, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

"What?" I asked, suspicious of what he had in mind. He shook his head and grabbed my hand, pulling me ahead and left, down a corridor and further into the dungeons.

"You had better not be taking me to your pet dragon." I warned, and he snorted, "It will get a very nasty surprise if it tries to eat me." I was mostly joking. It made me nervous to be alone with Scorpius, especially in a part of the castle not many people frequented. And for all I knew, he _could_ have a pet dragon hidden in some dark corner.

It seemed like we walked forever before he finally stopped outside a very elegantly carved door.

"Wow," I murmured without really realising. I couldn't help but be drawn into the beauty of the swirls and curves.

"I thought you might like it," Scorp said, smiling cheekily, "but do you wanna go in, or just stand here all day?"

I shoved at his chest playfully before indeed turning the brass door handle and pushing the heavy door open.

I gasped. The whole room, from floor to ceiling, was green. And I don't mean painted green, I mean _leafy_ green. Plants of every kind grew from pots of every shape and size, some winding through trellis', some supported by wooden stakes.

There were flowers in such bright hues I knew they had to be magical. I few plants I recognised but most were completely foreign to me.

After standing there gaping for a few minutes, I turned to Scorpius, "What is this place?"

He smiled again and brushed a piece of my hair behind my ear. It fell straight back to were it was as soon as he removed his hand, but that only made him smile more.

"I created it," he simply said. I was too amazed to question the statement. I knew he was really good at Herbology, but this completely exceeded my expectations.

"So is this where you bring all your conquests?" I asked, grinning, trying to regain my 'couldn't-care-less' demeanour. I also tried to act like the thought of Scorpius bringing other girls here didn't make a fracture of pain bloom in my chest.

"Actually," he said, "you're the only person apart from Al who has been in here." My heart thumped with relief as he said it. "I had to negotiate with the Headmaster of course, but you know what he's like." Scorpius chuckled.

I did indeed know what Headmaster Gryffin was like. He sat in his office most of the time, only leaving it to join the rest of the school in the Great Hall for dinner. I don't think he's even _seen_ the dungeons since he was a student here.

I continued to look around in wonder. "I didn't realise you were so good at this. I knew you always had a talent for Herbology, but this… it's breathtaking."

Scorp flashed me a brilliant smile. "I never knew either, until about a year ago," Seeing the question in my eyes, he shrugged. "I guess we both found ways of dealing with our pain. Mine just isn't confined to pencils and paper."

Drawing hadn't been my only method for making the pain go away, but I wasn't about to tell him that. I cleared my throat.

"I had better get back to my common room. We've already got a tonne of homework and personally, I don't want to fail any classes." I tried to keep my eyes away from Scorpius, and tried to ignore my own feelings of hurt at having to leave his company.

"Oh. Yeah, sure," Scorpius said. I was almost positive that he sounded disappointed.

I smiled at him and left. This really was not a good day.

* * *

_Scorpius and I were sitting in the deserted Slytherin common room. He was sitting in one of the armchairs in front of the glowing embers of the fire, with me in his lap. We were rather intensely making out, and damn was it good._

_Scorp's lips were warm and supple as they caressed mine. His left hand was on my hip, holding me against him while his other hand inched its way up the back of my shirt. I shivered at the contact, arching my back and incidentally pressing myself even more into his chest. I scrunched his shirt in my fists, desperately trying to get closer. In my fervour, I nibbled on his bottom lip, eliciting a very sexy growl from him. _

_Suddenly, he was pulling my shirt off, biting and kissing his way down the side of my neck… his lips paused at the edge of my cream-coloured bra, only long enough for him to unclip it and before I knew it his lips were around my nipple. _

_I threw my head back and moaned, unconsciously moving my hips and rubbing myself against his quickly growing erection._

_It was pure bliss, but it still wasn't enough for me. I pushed him back into the chair, pulling his shirt off as I went. I delighted in the sculpted perfection that was his toned body before capturing his lips in mine again. _

I sat upright in bed with a gasp. With how hard I was breathing, you'd think I'd just run up to the Astronomy tower and back.

How far the dream may have gone if I hadn't woken I do not know. i groaned, painfully aware of how badly I wanted that dream to be true. It had started out that way, at the end of our fourth year, but it hadn't progressed any further than Scorpius' hand up my shirt.

Looking at my watch in the light from my wand, I sighed. It was only four in the morning and I was already wide awake. Deciding I may as well get up, I gave Aphrodite a few pats before slipping out of bed. She meowed at me as I started rummaging through my trunk and I hushed her. The last thing I needed was for my roommates to wake and discover me wearing a skimpy nightgown. They already though I was a tramp without adding to their rumours.

It wasn't my fault my older cousins (the female ones, of course) had this obsession with ensuring I had enough lacy underwear to open my own strip club. Honestly, I don't know what they got up to when they were at school, but it wasn't like I made a habit of sleeping with people and it wasn't like I had a boyfriend to show it off to.

Hmm. After a moment's thought, I chuckled to myself and extracted a matching silver and green bra and panties.

Scorpius had no idea what he was missing out on.

I had a free schedule until after lunch so decided to head to the library and catch up on some homework. I found an empty study table and got started on my charms. When I was sufficiently pleased with my progress, I got up to stretch and heard Scorpius' unmistakable chuckle.

Curious, I walked in the direction it had come from, wanting to know who other than me could make him laugh. Peering around the bookshelves, I spotted him sitting at a study table further back, close to the restricted section.

Careful he didn't see me, I pulled a book off the shelf in front of me, listening keenly.

"Look, mate," I heard Scorpius say, "I know what she's like even if we've only just started talking again and there is no way I am giving up." My heart thudded. Was he talking about me?

"That might be the case, but honestly, how are you going to convince her that you just want to be friends?" Albus! So it was Al he was talking to about me. The relief I felt was utterly ridiculous.

"Who said I just wanted to be friends?" replied Scorpius and I heard Al snort.

"You could at least pretend to have innocent motives around me. She is my cousin you know!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Scorpius wanted to be more than just friends? Or was he just messing around and saying it to get a reaction out of Al? Millions of thoughts were swimming around in my head and I was so distracted I knocked a book off the shelf. Shit!

"Hey, did you hear that?" I heard Albus say, along with the scraping of chairs as he and Scorpius stood up.

I ran back to my table as quickly and quietly as I could. I grabbed my stuff and rushed out of the library.

* * *

Herbology that afternoon with the Hufflepuffs was vaguely entertaining. Evidently, one of them forgot the nastier qualities of the Venomous Tentacula and got a little too close. They were reprimanded by Professor Longbottom and we got back on task. All I could think about was Scorpius' conversation with Al in the library. I scolded myself for thinking that maybe the extended version of my dream could come true after all.

After the lesson, I pulled my robes off so I was just wearing my school shirt and skirt. It was a warm afternoon and I was going to enjoy it while it lasted. Winter would set in soon and that generally meant layers upon layers of clothing. It also meant curling up in front of the common room fire reading a good book but I would much rather read next to the lake on a warm day.

I was having such a great day that I assumed I would easily fall asleep too. I laid in bed for over two hours, staring at the canopy of my bed and praying for sleep to take me. When that never came, I got up, dressed quickly in whatever I could find easily and left the tower. This time, I knew exactly where I was going.

My cosy little room was warm when I entered, the fire roaring in the grate, and I immediately felt at home. I reclined on the loveseat, smiling contentedly at myself. I quickly dozed off and had possibly the strangest dream of my life (aside from the almost-wet dream about Scorpius a few weeks ago).

_I was in what I assumed to be the Malfoy Manor, judging by the rather imposing blonde portraits lining the walls. At the end of the hall, two people whom I assumed were Draco and Astoria Malfoy stood, staring at me. Their intimidating gazes did not waver as I stood there awkwardly, feeling as though I had just walked into public without pants. Then, suddenly, I didn't have any pants and Scorpius was there. His eyes smouldered as he looked down at me, his face impassive. There was an electric current between us that I had never felt at such a high level with him before. That night we took things a step further… the feelings were all there but not at such an intoxicating and unnerving level. His gray eyes bored into me, heating me to my very core. I gasp, remembering his parents, but when I turn my head to look at them, they and the hallway were gone, a stone wall in its place. I was now in what looked like Scorpius' room, books and general guy stuff scattered around the room. _

"_Rose…" Scorpius murmured. I closed my eyes, trying to contain the feelings that one word ignited in me. I felt him grab my waist and I gasped. My eyes flew open to meet his and just the wanting, needing look in his expression made me melt. My gaze drifted down to his lips then back up to his eyes, silently begging. Please, Scorpius. That was his undoing. Roughly, he closed the distance between us, pushing me back against the wall. Just before his mouth claimed my own in a passionate embrace, I was falling, falling through the wall…_

And onto my ass. I blinked up through the bright morning light at the ceiling, realising with great annoyance that I had fallen off the loveseat again. I really needed to stop making a habit out of this.

Groaning, I got to my feet. Rather ungracefully, I might add.

"Interesting dream, huh?"

I think I must have jumped a mile in the air. If my wand had been in my hand, Scorpius would probably be dead right now. I glared at him.

"What the hell is your problem?" I rubbed my sore behind, sure it would be bruised tomorrow.

"What? I didn't push you off. You seemed quite capable of doing that all by yourself." The bastard grinned at me, clearing enjoying this whole situation.

"You could have at least caught me," I grumbled, really only arguing for the sake of it.

He smiling wryly at me, then began appraising my outfit.

"I forgot you stole that," he said casually. I frowned, thinking maybe the hair colouring was starting to effect his brain as well as his general presence.

Looking down at myself, I realised immediately what he was talking about. In my hurry last night, I hadn't stopped to choose my clothing. As a result, I was wearing one of Scorpius' old Quidditch shirts, overly huge and worn as it was. I flushed, closing my eyes against the embarrassment. Of course it would be Scorpius who watched me fall on my ass, of course it would be him who saw me wearing one of my most coveted possessions. Would the humiliation never end?

"It's not like it would fit you now anyway," I muttered, picking at the hem of the shirt and simultaneously remembering that I wasn't even wearing a bra under it. Somewhere deep inside of me, I wished beyond a seconds thought that he would take me into his arms, lay me down on the loveseat and fulfill every one of my erotic fantasies.

"That's true. You also look far better in it than I ever did." That took me aback. I gaped at Scorpius, unbelieving and sure I had misheard. "Don't look at me like that," he said, serious. "You are beautiful, no matter what you wear. And it just happens that you look particularly delectable in my clothing." A slow smirk spread over his face and I yet again flushed. He couldn't possibly mean anything by that. Could he?

I couldn't for the life of me think of anything to say and just stood there, cursing to the heavens. Suddenly, he was in front of me, taking hold of my chin with one long-fingered hand. He tilted my hand back so I would look at him. Still, I refused to make eye contact.

"Rose," he whispered my name, almost reverently. The sound of my name on his lips was too much. It pulled at the deep, hidden place inside of me which demanded for me to _just kiss him already!_ I met his eyes. Those mercurial, possessing eyes which seemed to draw me in with such intensity I was left weak in the knees. It was too much for me, too confusing with everything that has already happened. I pulled away.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. I left before he could say otherwise. If I had given him the chance, there would be no going back for me.

**So sorry about the long wait, I'm currently in the midst of moving houses and also stressing because I start university in a weeks time! Thank you so much to those who reviewed/followed/favourited, as this is my first actual story that has lasted longer than five pages and feedback is so important to me.  
**


	3. Would I Ever Be Enough?

Will I Ever Be Enough?

The next few weeks were almost a blur as they passed me by. Scorpius and I were slowly beginning to spend more time together, although it was mostly just studying together in the library, reading through each other's homework.

I tried to sound interested when he and Al were discussing upcoming Quidditch matches. Scorpius tried not to comment on the state of my sleeping pattern (or lack thereof). Al tried not to look too pleased with himself whenever he saw Scorp and I talking.

I was happy (mostly) for the first time in over a year and it was a blessed change.

I was sitting at the Gryffindor table this morning, picking apart my toast while reading. A distinct fluttering of wings announced the arrival of the post. The owls swooped in, carrying all manner of letters and parcels. Not expecting anything, I jumped and dropped my toast when a handsome tawny owl landed next to the pumpkin juice in front of me. It stared at me unblinkingly until I hesitantly took the piece of paper from its beak. I recognized the handwriting almost immediately.

_Meet me in the Slytherin Common Room tonight. I want to talk without you running away on me. – Scorp_

My heart leaped in my chest as I read Scorpius' elegant writing. I glanced over at the Slytherin table and saw him watching me. As our eyes met, a slow, devilish smirk grew on his face. Oh my. I'm fairly sure someone lit my face on fire, judging by the intense heat radiating from my cheeks.

The owl was still sitting on the table when I tore my eyes away from Scorpius and I realised it was expecting a reply. Digging a pencil out of my bag, I scribbled my answer on the back.

_It's a date. – R_

I gave the note back to the owl. It took flight - almost knocking over the pumpkin juice - and in a big arc over the tables, landed in front of Scorpius. Not exactly the most inconspicuous way of passing notes, but I guess that's Hogwarts for you.

I watched Scorpius read my reply, immensely pleased with myself when his cheeks coloured slightly. That was the closest he ever got to blushing, and it happened very rarely. I giggled to myself when Al tried to read the note over his shoulder but Scorpius hastily shoved it in his pocket.

I was a nervous mess after the note exchange, nerves and excitement chasing each other around my head. As it was a Wednesday, I had no classes and nothing to distract myself with. I was definitely not planning on going to the library to do homework all day.

I did end up going to the library, but no way was I going to study. Not that I would be able to concentrate anyway. Climbing the stairs to the third floor, I passed some fifth year girls who all gave me filthy looks. I was taken aback, but shrugged it off, putting it down to hormonal teenagers.

I chose my favourite spot in the library – a table under a window overlooking the grounds – and settled myself in with my drawing stuff. After an hour or so a group of fourth year girls passed by, including my cousin Lily Potter. Her friends looked at me scathingly, barely masking what I swear was jealousy. When Lily spotted me, however, her face lit up and she rushed over.

"Oh my gosh, Rose!" she gushed, "Is it true?"

I blinked at her for a minute, not really sure what was happening. What was with everyone today? "What the hell are you talking about Lily?" I asked finally, extremely confused. Lily and I still spoke a lot while we were at home in the holidays, but when we were at school she preferred to stick with her friends. You can't imagine how odd this is for her to be talking to me in public, and being excited about it.

It was her turn to blink at me. "Well you and Scorpius Malfoy being an item of course."

She said it with such absolute certainty that it took me a few seconds to even realise what she had said. As it dawned on me, I probably would have fallen out of my seat if I hadn't clutched onto the table to steady myself.

"Um, what?" I spluttered, sure I had misheard. I wasn't sure if I wanted to howl with laughter or hunt down the gray-eyed bastard.

Lily gave me a strange look, "You are going out with Scorpius Malfoy… aren't you?" when I didn't reply she went on, "I heard it from Lorcan, who had heard it from some of his friends who are in Slytherin."

Oh really? Well, I was going to get to the bottom of this. I emptied my stuff into my bag, slung it over my shoulder and stalked out of the library, leaving Lily gaping after me.

It was times like this that I was so thankful I had found a cushioning charm that I put on my shoes every morning. Without it, I would have ditched my death-trap shoes by now and gone barefoot. As it was, it made it hard to go down stairs in a hurry. I took my time, the delay only adding to my building annoyance, a million and one thoughts going through my head.

I finally made it to the dungeons before realising that I didn't know the password to the Slytherin common room. It would have changed numerous times since I was there last. I cursed under my breath, hoping someone would just happen to be leaving as I got there.

Despite my hopes, this did not happen. After a while of just standing there in the cold corridor, I got impatient and decided to just try some words and hope for the best. I tried a few different words and phrases, to no avail. Until…

"Power brings glory." I was so surprised when the door appeared in the stone wall in front of me. It worked! I snorted at their oh-so-brilliant choice in password and opened the door to go inside.

The Slytherin Common Room was exactly how I remembered. It was one of those rooms that is well lit, but still looks dim. Not that that even makes sense. There are green themed tapestries hanging from the stone walls depicting nature and underwater scenes with mermaids and water nymphs. The room is obviously underground, so there aren't any windows. The light comes from the silver and crystal chandeliers hanging from the moderately high ceiling and the fireplace on one wall.

The huge fireplace threw out the most light when it was lit, adding warmth to the room, a blessed change after the cold corridor. It was ornate and mostly silver, like everything else in the room, and it was by far my favourite feature of the room.

There were a few sixth- and seventh-year students sitting around talking or studying but it was mostly quiet. I got a couple strange looks while I stood there gazing around. Quite honestly, I didn't care.

I finally spotted Scorpius and Al sitting together in a corner playing chess. From the looks of it, Al was losing spectacularly. I strode over to them, ignoring everyone I passed. Like it was any of their business what I was doing in here. Well, it is their common room, but who cares.

"Seriously mate, just go talk to her about it. She'll understand." Al was saying to Scorpius as I approached.

Scorpius made a disbelieving sound as he turned to see who had randomly appeared next to him. If I hadn't been so irritated, I would have laughed at the look on his face as he saw me.

"Hey Scorp." I smiled winningly at him, which of course made him look even more concerned. Al sunk low in his seat, as if hoping I wouldn't notice him. Luckily for him, my issue was with Scorpius.

"Hey Rose," Scorpius replied, gray eyes wary.

"I assume you have heard the recent – and completely untrue, I might add – rumours that are currently circulating?" I raise my eyebrows at him, crossing my arms as I do so. The more dramatic, the better.

He and Al exchange mystified expressions.

"Man, it scares me how quickly news travels in this place," Al said, looking genuinely worried.

Scorpius turned back to me, clearly uncomfortable.

"Sorry Rose. Nott found the note from this morning." A dark expression crossed his face for a second before disappearing. "It must have dropped out of my pocket." I felt my steely resolve melting as he gazed at me with those beautiful, truly remorseful eyes. Seriously woman, I scolded myself, make up your mind already! One minute you want to totally keep your distance from the guy and the next you're purposely seeking out his company. Do you _want_ your heart broken?

I guess the problem was that it was already broken, from my own stupidity. What did I have to lose really?

I told my subconscious to shut up, which she did, albeit unwillingly. Resolved, I relaxed my tense stance and smiled weakly at Scorpius. "I guess you can't really help it. At least we both know it's not true anyway," I said, dearly wishing that it could be.

I couldn't help wondering – probably for the millionth time – what would have happened if I hadn't pushed away from him all that time ago.

Scorpius looked so relieved I almost laughed; he was beyond adorable.

"So, seeing as everyone will now be expecting me here tonight, where are we going to meet instead? I don't fancy having an audience for our 'talk'." I directed this at Scorpius, not particularly minding if Al heard.

Scorpius grinned at me, sending an enticing shiver through me. "Your place or mine?" he asked casually, making Al choke on imaginary water.

I narrowed my eyes at him, ignoring my body's reaction to his words. "Mine. But don't expect events to repeat themselves." His grin widened in response. Whether I was talking about me falling on my ass or him making me so nervous I ran out on him I don't know, but if I had my way neither would be happening again.

By this point, Al was looking from me to Scorpius and back again, completely lost. It will do him good to be left out of the loop for once; he is far too conceited otherwise.

I turned to leave.

"Laters, baby," Scorpius called out loudly after me. I laughed, and my elated mood followed me through the rest of the day.

Clearly, Scorpius and I being an 'item' was the hottest topic of the week. I finally realised why most of the female population were glaring at me. Scorpius was one of the schools most sought-after guys, and definitely the most desirable. I sympathized with them despite myself, as clearly I had fallen under his spell too.

Interestingly enough, I have always loved his personality. The way he laughed, the frown that crinkled his forehead when he was studying particularly hard, the way he smiled at me as though I was the only girl in the world… Yes, I had always loved those things. The interesting part was that only in the last year or so – since school started – that I started to notice his ridiculously good looks too.

I'm sure he had always been good-looking, but he wasn't just handsome to me anymore. He was sexy, charming and completely enticing.

Needless to say, there was no way for me to stop loving him. Nothing short of moving to the nearest planet anyway.

I was hiding in my (semi) secret room, away from all the whispers and stares while also waiting for Scorpius. I had already been back to my dorm to get changed out of my school clothes and now I was waiting impatiently. I still couldn't work out how he even knew about this place.

Dinner wasn't even an option for me tonight. My nerves were too frayed from thinking about all the ways tonight could end.

Mostly, I was just hoping I wouldn't end up crying myself to sleep tonight.

The door was slightly ajar so I could hear when anyone approached. I needed all the forewarning I could get in order to mentally prepare myself. It scared me how nervous I was, knowing I would soon be alone with the man I loved.

Dinner must have finished because I hear the distant rumble of students, probably the Ravenclaws returning to their tower common room. My nerves spiked when, not long after, I hear the door connecting to the corridor outside opening. My heart leaps into my throat and remains wedged there as Scorpius appears in the doorway.

"Hey," he says softly, an unreadable expression in his eyes.

"You wanted to talk to me?" I prompt lightly, reclining on the love seat in an effort to appear more at ease. He sat down on the armchair across from me, moving so gracefully I felt a pang of jealousy. He settled himself in, looking as comfortable as I wanted to feel.

"I did indeed. I was hoping to ease into the conversation so I didn't startle you and have you run off on me again." He smirked at me, running his eyes up and down the length of my body. I flushed under his gaze. "I have to say, I preferred my shirt on you," he continued, and pouted. Yes, actually _pouted._ Could he get any cuter?

I tried to keep my mind off it, the better to keep my wits about me. "I prefer to wear it where no one can see me. To avoid unnecessary questions."

"If I had it my way, no one would have any questions about it if they saw you wearing it. It would be normal."

I shivered at the implications behind his words, not daring to latch any hope onto them. "It would be a bit strange for friends to suddenly start wearing each other's clothes don't you think?" I asked, and rushed on when he opened his mouth. "Because that's all we are, Scorpius. That's all we've ever been. Right?" I held his gaze, daring him to contradict me. When he said nothing, my heart sank from my throat, bypassed the cavity it usually occupied and down into my stomach.

I stood up and wandered over to the bookcases, running my fingers along the dusty old spines. The familiar touch was comforting, reminding me there are things in life that do still make me happy.

"Just because that's how things are doesn't mean that's what I want." When Scorpius spoke, his voice was closer, yet softer. I turned to find him standing a metre from me, hands in his pockets and an impassive expression on his face. His hair was falling in his face and I longed to push it back for him.

"I thought we had already had this conversation," I said quietly, barely wanting to breathe in case this turned out to be a dream or vivid hallucination. "Your family…"

Suddenly Scorpius was right in front of me, forcing me back into the bookcase and putting his hands on either side of my head. My breath caught in my throat, my heartbeat racing. I could feel his warmth, smell the sweet yet spicy aroma that was all him. it was overpowering and as a result I was like putty in his hands.

"My family has nothing to do with any relationship I chose to have. They don't decide who I spend my time with. Only I can do that." Wait, relationship? I widen my eyes as I gaze up at him, a thousand different replies quivering on the tip of my tongue. Slowly, as if scared of my reaction, he lowered his head until his forehead was resting lightly against mine.

Equally as slow, I raised my hands from my sides, resting them against his chest. The warmth radiating from him sent a shiver down my spine, erupting in my stomach. I moved my hands up to his shoulders, feeling the taut muscles there and he closed his eyes. His breath in my face was cool and slightly uneven, giving away at least some of his feelings. I had to concentrate not to make any sudden moves should he decide this was a bad idea.

I knew this couldn't possibly end well, but I was beyond caring. I had waited far too long for his closeness and I wasn't about to throw away the opportunity that I had only dreamed about (on several occasions). I shifted slightly against the bookcase, becoming uncomfortable with the books digging into my back.

When I looked back up at Scorpius, he was watching me, grinning. "You are so beautiful. Especially when you're uncomfortable and crinkle your nose like that." I crinkled my nose at him, making him laugh. Smiling up at him, I found my gaze drawn to his lips.

"You shouldn't bite your lip like that. Who knows what might happen," Scorpius breathed, making my heartbeat spike. Oh god why did he have to have this effect on me? I couldn't concentrate, my only thought being that I wished he would kiss me.

I bit my lip again, this time on purpose, and he groaned softly. I tilted my head up, daring him with my eyes to kiss me. He leaned forward, gray eyes searching mine. He obviously saw whatever it was that he was looking for there because he closed the gap between us and claimed my lips with his. He brought his hands down to cup my face, holding me gently as I melted into his arms.

He pushed me back up against the bookcase, deepening the kiss and removing one hand from my face only to wrap it around my waist. My body easily moulded against his, as if it were made for just this purpose. This time I didn't mind the books digging into my backside, I would have happily stayed this way all night. This was a million times better than the last time we did this.

After what seemed like a blissful eternity, Scorpius pulls away, looking distinctly dishevelled. Breathing heavy, I smile impishly up at him. "That was quite definitely worth the wait."

"I could say the same, but I think we could do better." Scorpius grinned at me suggestively and I giggled. He tugged me close again, arm still around my waist. He then made us awkwardly walk over to the loveseat, which he sat down on, bringing me down with him so I was sitting in his lap.

"Well this brings back memories," I say wryly and regret it almost immediately when a pained expression crosses his face. "Sorry," I whisper, burying my face in the crook of his neck.

His arms tighten around me. "It's fine." He rests his head against my hair, inhaling deeply.

I pull back and fix him with a stare. "Did you just smell my hair?" I demand, not sure if I should find it as cute as I did. He grins at me.

"It's not my fault you always smell so wonderful," he says, his mood apparently cheerful once again. I blush. That was definitely cute. I rest my head back on his shoulder subtly inhaling his scent. Yeah, I know I'm a hypocrite, but he just smells so _glorious_. Like a mixture of sandalwood, cinnamon and yummy goodness.

We sat like that for a while, just wanting to be close. I felt Scorpius shift and suddenly felt very self-conscious about how I was sitting across his lap.

"So what does this mean for us?" I asked, almost wishing I hadn't said anything. I was positive he would say that it meant nothing. It had already happened once before.

Scorpius tightened his arms around me, as if thinking I was about to run away. If I hadn't been dreading his response so much I probably would have thought it funny. "Way to ruin a moment Rose," he said wryly.

"I need to know," I said, pushing away from him once again. "I can't do this if it's just for your personal pleasure. That much has not changed." I fixed him with an unswerving stare.

"I know." Scorpius tugged me closer until our foreheads were touching. I could see a hundred different emotions flashing through his eyes. The internal struggle he was facing confused me. What could possibly be so difficult about just asking me out? My mind flew to his family. Of course. They would never approve of him dating someone like me.

My heart deflated like a balloon with a pin in its side. Will I ever be enough for anyone? I closed my eyes against the pain, struggling to keep my emotions in check. No way did I want him to see me upset and pity me.

"Rose." My eyes flew open. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

Holy fucking shit.

* * *

**So I was thinking about maybe writing a chapter from Scorpius' point of view, or part of a chapter from his point of view, but then I don't want to give away too much all at once… so depending on how my lovely reviewers feel, I might write it for one of the next few chapters. **


	4. Adjustments

Adjustments

I fell into bed that night – although it was more like early morning – exhausted and immeasurably happy. I giggled up at the canopy of my bed. I clapped a hand over my mouth when I remembered my roommates, which only made me giggle more.

My night with Scorpius had completely blown my mind. When he asked if I wanted to be his girlfriend… I think my heart just about imploded with joy. I said yes, after a few seconds of stunned silence and I could still remember the way his eyes lit up at my answer. We sat there for hours after that, just talking. I omitted a few things in our discussions but at such a tentative stage in the relationship (I can finally call it that!) I didn't think I could handle it. If I let Scorpius know just how deeply I was hurt by the events of our fifth year… well if things went badly between us I don't want that weight on his shoulders.

When the topic of his family came up again, he had effectively distracted me with a kiss; passionately enough that all reasonable thought left my mind. It came back to me now in spades, along with that big question. What would his family think? Namely, his grandparents? I pushed the feelings away, reluctant to spoil my mood. With Scorpius on my mind, I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face.

When I woke the next morning, the dorm was deathly silent. Assuming everyone must still be asleep, I got up, only to find all the beds empty and neatly made.

Frowning, I checked my watch and oh dear lord, it's almost lunchtime! No wonder I felt so well rested; that was probably the longest I had slept in months.

Slightly puzzled, but happy for the solitude, I dug around in my trunks for something to wear. I decided on my new favourite silver and green bra and panties, school skirt (shortened courtesy of my cousins) and Scorpius' old Quidditch shirt. With my black robes on no one would notice the difference. I couldn't actually find the black heels I generally wore during the day, so chose some black flats instead.

I could not be bothered doing anything with my hair; it was just too curly today. I didn't generally wear make-up – aside from mascara and lip gloss – so bypassed that step also.

It felt like I was arming myself for battle, although I had no idea why. I grabbed my messenger bag and left the tower.

I made much faster progress down the seven flights of stairs than I usually did with heels. I past a few other students – they immediately stopped talking when they spotted me. By the time I reached the Entrance Hall, I could have sworn that even the portraits on the walls were whispering about my relationship with Scorpius. I heard someone call my name and turned to see Scorpius and Al emerging from the stairs leading to the dungeons.

"Hey," I greeted them, smiling. My eyes lingered on Scorpius longer than I usually permitted myself. He was looking particularly fine this morning (afternoon?) and it gave me a thrill to know he was now all mine.

I was mildly – to say the least - surprised when, by way of a greeting, Scorpius swept me into his arms and kissed me deeply. "Hey," he whispered against my lips, lightly kissed me again. I flushed and couldn't help the flare of happiness in my chest. He released me but kept hold of my hand.

"Nice hair," Al commented, distinctly uncomfortable with how Scorp and I were looking at each other.

I appraise the black mess that perched on top of his head. "I could say the same about yours. Looks like something has recently been nesting in it."

"Yes, well, I'm hungry," Scorpius announced, distracting us. He tugged on my hand, leading us into the Great Hall. I realised almost immediately that he was steering us towards the Slytherin table. Nerves suddenly started gnawing away at my stomach. We were allowed to eat at other houses tables to encourage inter-house unity or whatever, but one does not simply walk over to the Slytherin table and start eating. I glance over at the Gryffindor table and saw just about every one of my relatives staring at me.

"Hey." Al appears next to me. "Don't worry about them. Not like they ever sit with you anyway." He smiles at me encouragingly. I feel a surge of selfishness remembering how when Al was sorted into Slytherin he was pushed to the side, no longer part of the 'inner circle'. Everyone had teased him, calling him a snake and making hissing sounds at him. To be fair, we were eleven and uncle Harry and auntie Ginny scolded anyone they heard doing it, but parents aren't always around. I think I was the only one who would really spend time with Al while at home. During school, he had Scorpius.

I settle myself down next to Scorpius, who raised my hand he was still holding and brought it to his lips to kiss. I giggle and he watches me appreciatively, almost as if he knew what I was wearing beneath my robe. Well, he would not be finding out today. Despite some disgusting rumours that went around in our fifth year, I was not that type of girl. That's what I told myself, anyway.

I sat there, observing the rest of the hall, finding it interesting exactly how many people were glancing over at us as subtly as they could. When Scorpius realised I wasn't eating, he gave me a strange look.

"Not hungry today?" he asked, suspicious.

I squirm under his gaze. "I don't really eat breakfast, which this basically is for me," I reply. They both gape at me.

"Since when?" Al spluttered, lowering his fork as if this was so serious it needed his absolute full attention. He was no doubt thinking of the many family gatherings we have had where I would eat as much as I possibly could.

"Are you being purposely obtuse, or are you just not very observant?" I asked him, and when he just blinked at me, continued, "Honestly, when do you ever see me at breakfast, usually? Anyway, it's not that big a deal."

"So that's why you're so much skinnier now," Scorpius perceived. Al shot him a look, probably wondering how Scorpius knew exactly how much skinnier I was. It's not like it was obvious with the loose robes we wear.

In an effort to avoid going down that particular topic pathway, I grabbed an egg and lettuce sandwich and took a bite.

"Are you happy now?" I asked them around the food in my mouth. Scorpius snorted and Al looked a little grossed out.

"You are charming, babe." I almost choked when Scorpius said it. He was already calling me babe? It hadn't even been a day yet! Well at least he's comfortable with the idea of us being together, I thought, I guess that's a good sign.

I found that I was actually hungry, making quick work of the sandwich and helping myself to a second.

By the time I finished, Scorp and Al were in the middle of a debate about which teachers were wearing the worst hats. Needing to study and not particularly interested in the conversation, I stood, getting their attention.

"What? Our company not good enough for you?" Al asked, pretending to be offended.

"Don't flatter yourself. I need to go to the library. Do you not realise how much homework we have?"

Al turned slightly green, probably remembering the mountain of assignments he had waiting for him.

Scorpius tugged on my hair gently, making me lean closer to him. He kissed me softly and slowly and for a second I almost believed we were the only people in the room.

"Ahem," Albus made a you're-embarrassing-as-hell-and-I-want-to-be-annoying-so-I-will-prentend-to-clear-my-throat sound. I pulled away from Scorpius. He pouted up at me and I laughed. "I have to go!"

"I'll see you at dinner?" he asked, not even trying to keep the hope out of his voice. My heart fluttered in my chest.

"Of course." I smiled at them both and left the Great Hall.

About halfway up the stairs out of the Entrance Hall, I heard someone call my name. Twice in one day. I must be lucky. This time when I turned around, however, it was my cousin James standing there. Sometimes it confused me how he and Albus could look so similar: messy black hair, similar facial features, tall. Well, obviously they _are_ brothers, but it's crazy how much they resemble each other and still have such opposing personalities.

Where Albus is a quiet and intelligent (even if easily confused) person, James is loud, with a strong and forceful opinion – about absolutely everything.

I stood there silently, one eyebrow cocked, waiting for him to get whatever it is that he has to say over and done with.

"You are going out with Malfoy then?" he asked finally, after realising I wasn't going to say anything.

"So it would seem, yes," I replied calmly, while on the inside my nerves were rioting.

James didn't seem surprised, although if I wasn't mistaken, I did see an ounce of disgust flicker across his face. He mostly just looked annoyed and uncomfortable. "Lily did say it wasn't true because you seemed so shocked when she asked you, but I thought maybe you reacted that way because it was supposed to be a secret."

Was he actually serious?

"Like usual, James, you would do better off not thinking so hard. You'll end up hurting yourself." I was fuming, feeling like I was being interrogated. "What exactly is the point you are trying to make here?" I asked, becoming impatient.

"He's not good for you Rose. We all saw what happened to you last time. And don't try and pretend it wasn't because of him. I saw the way you two acted around each other."

I almost snorted in disbelief. Most girls get told "He's not _good enough_ for you" but instead I get "He's _no good_ for you". Like James even knew half of it.

"First of all, it is none of your business who I date, James Potter. Whether it be Scorpius Malfoy or Lorcan Scamander. Secondly, what happened between Scorpius and I isn't any of your business either. Don't you dare try to start acting like the concerned cousin all of a sudden!" I was shouting by then, beyond frustrated. "None of you were there for me when I needed you! Not that you would have understood anyway. You would have just shaken your head and told me that I should have known better."

People had started sticking their heads out the Great Hall doors, wondering what all the fuss was about. I glared at them and they retreated.

Not wanting to attract any teachers to the argument, I just wanted to leave. James clearly had other plans.

"We tried being there for you but you were so quiet and moody you wouldn't let us. Mom and dad eventually just told us to leave you be," he said. I really didn't know what to say to that, or what to think. I could barely remember the dark months after Scorpius and I started talking. For all I knew, I could have been living in the cellar.

"Regardless," I said, having adopted a calm façade again, "what I do with Scorpius is none of your concern. I reserve the right to get my heart broken as I see fit." I turned and ascended the stairs, confused feelings swirling through my head.

Maybe James was right and I was only setting myself up for failure, but Scorpius did genuinely seem like he cared for me and wanted to make it work this time. I shook it out of my head and buried myself in the comforting silence of musty books and the written word.

* * *

After studying for almost four hours, I felt much better. Nothing like absorbing yourself in useless facts to keep your mind off things. I still had a couple of hours before dinner but I don't think my brain could handle any more studying.

Lugging my heavy bag up to my dorm, I deposited it on my bed, thankful for the weight off my shoulders. I sat on the edge of my bed for a minute, happy to be in the solitude of the empty dorm. I was so tired of the strange looks I got from every single person I passed. I swear even the teachers were watching me when my back was turned.

I sighed. I was so happy to be Scorpius' girlfriend, unbelievably so, but I wasn't sure if I could handle all the attention that came with it. He hadn't seemed bothered by all the looks we were getting at breakfast, but then as one of the most desirable guys at school, a Slytherin and a Malfoy to boot, he was probably immune to it.

I heard a soft meow and looked down to see Aphrodite sitting at my feet, her huge grey eyes staring up at me. She had grown since coming here and once again I was overwhelmed by her adorableness. She had been given to me on my birthday by my parents, doubling as a congratulatory present for becoming a school Prefect. Aphrodite started rubbing up against my legs, demanding attention. Laughing, I picked up the little fluff ball and was surprised by how much heavier she was.

Deciding to take her for a bit of a walk, I left the tower and headed towards my secret room. Because she was still so small, she couldn't get out of the portrait hole – unless I carried her – so this was a completely new experience for her.

I probably sound like a crazy cat lady, but anyone who has had a kitten should understand how freaking adorable they are. Otherwise, you have no heart and kittens really should not be exposed to your negative presence. Just saying.

When we were safely inside the room and the door was closed, I put Aphrodite down. She immediately started walking around sniffing everything. I smiled, lying back on the loveseat and watching her. It's not weird; she's like a child and requires supervision. The fire was lit, as it always seems to be when I come in here, casting a warm glow over me. Maybe the house elves just _knew_ when I was planning on coming here and made sure there was a warm fire when I got here. there was something to ponder on a rainy day.

Through my warm haze of comfort, I hear the door open and I peak over the back of the seat to see Scorpius poking his head in.

"May I came in, my lady?" he asks, grinning. I laugh.

"Why yes, sir, you may," I reply, adopting a rather posh sounding accent. Scorpius steps into the room, closing the door behind him, and was instantly bombarded by Aphrodite. She stood in front of him, not even four inches tall, wagging her tail (yes, cats do that) and looking up at him with her big eyes. I giggle at the dumbfounded expression on Scorp's face.

"She wants you to pick her up," I prodded, smiling when he followed my words. "It's like you've never seen a cat before."

He rolled his eyes at me. "After six years here, of course I have. I've just never held one."

I sat up straight. "Not even as a kid?"

"It wasn't exactly the type of thing my parents allowed."

Watching him scratch Aphrodite's ear, I tried to imagine Scorpius as a child; blonde haired and small, sitting alone in his plain, stone-walled bedroom with nothing to do.

"What did you do as a kid then?" I asked, genuinely interested.

He glanced up at me from wiggling his fingers at the little seductress. Probably guessing what I was thinking, he said, "I didn't just sit around in my room. Sure, it was lonely, growing up alone in that big house, but I read mostly. There's a huge library on the ground floor that my father had refurbished before I was born. It has these really comfortable chairs that I would just curl up in and read for hours on end." He stopped, taking a deep breath.

I don't think I had ever heard Scorpius say so much about himself all at once.

"I would love to read in that library," I said quietly, feeling my heart swell for the adolescent Scorpius. I spent all my life surrounded by people, to the point where the only private time I had was in the shower. Even then I could still hear Hugo's ridiculous Muggle music, or mum and dads arguing. I hardly knew what it was like to have a quiet and peaceful life, especially one where I could sit in one place and read for hours without a single interruption.

"You could always come and visit." Scorpius had put down Aphrodite, much to the vain creature's disappointment, and was approaching me. My heart rate sped up and I felt like all my brain could think was 'oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…' yeah, my subconscious is still in shock about this whole relationship actually being real. A part of me still believes it's just a figment of my imagination.

It felt very real, however, when Scorpius knelt in front of me, took my face in his hands and pressed his lips against mine. the effect was immediate. My heart rate sped up a notch as I melted into his capable hands. He was so warm, and comforting, and safe. The best part was that he was all mine. He shifted us so I was lying back on the loveseat (making sure I didn't hit my head on the wooden arm) and he was on top of me, keeping his weight off me using his forearms.

A thrill of anticipation laced with fear washed through me. How those two emotions even exist together I have no idea. I place my hands on his chest, feeling the hard muscles there and almost completely crumbling. He pulled back from the kiss, smiling down at me with the most heart-warming expression.

I really do love him, no matter what I have tried telling myself over the past months.

"You are so beautiful," Scorpius told me softly, brushing a strand of hair out of my face. His fingers trailed against my temple, and even just that smallest of touches made my skin almost _sing_ with pure bliss. I must have made some disbelieving face, because he frowned at me. "You are. In more ways than in just looks. You're smart, and funny and have this adorable way of blushing when someone compliments you." He grins at me.

"I think that last part is just your effect on me," I said, my brain yet again applying no filter to my words.

"Don't be silly. You're gorgeous in every way possible. Anyone would be a fool not to see it."

That had to be the sweetest thing anyone had ever said about me. Or to me, for that matter.

"That's the problem, everyone won't stop staring at me. I guess people have always been aware of who I am and who my family is, but this is completely different." I shuddered at the thought of all those people watching me. I think I finally understood how my uncle Harry must feel on a daily basis.

Scorpius considered my words for a moment, grey eyes watching my own, entrancing me.

"Both of our families are well known, even published in books, it's no wonder everyone is making a fuss. That's not even taking into consideration the fact that I'm a Malfoy and you're a Weasley."

The kid had a fair point. I giggled in spite of my misgivings.

"I can see how that would cause quite a scandal." I froze, a thought having struck me. "I need to tell my parents. I would be surprised if they don't already know, god knows my cousins and brother wouldn't hesitate to let them know. But it would be better if they heard it from me." I watched Scorpius for his reaction, apprehensive, but he just nodded and kissed me, effectively silencing my thoughts.

Pulling away from me for a second time, he rested his forehead against mine. "I'll send my parents a letter too, although I wouldn't be surprised if I receive an howler in return." I snorted and he grinned at me. "Such a lady you are," he commented, getting off me and standing up.

I poked my tongue out at him and outstretched my hands, the universal signal for 'help me up'. He obliged, mockingly groaning as he did so. I shook my head.

"Anyone would think I was overweight or something," I grumbled, adjusting my robes.

It was Scorpius' turn to snort. "You eat like a ravenous pig and never gain an ounce," he paused. "Well that's how you used to eat anyway."

I fixed him with an exasperated look. "Don't start this again. I told you, I just don't have such a big appetite anymore."

"Yeah, yeah. I got it." He rolls his eyes, something he knows irritates me to no end.

I arch an eyebrow at him. He sighs, "Are we going to go sign our death sentences, or not?" he asks, a tad too patiently.

The thought of my impending doom halts my angry inner monologue.

* * *

Two hours later, we are walking hand in hand up the stairs and into the Entrance Hall. After returning Aphrodite to my dorm and collecting parchment and ink, Scorpius and I had gone to the owlery to write our letters and send them off. I noticed that Scorpius' was twice the length of mine, so by the time I had finished he was still writing. When he had finished I had only just convinced one of the school owls to come down from its perch to accept my letter. It looked rather small and tatty-looking next to Scorpius' well-groomed owl.

About to walk into the Great Hall for dinner, Scorpius must have noticed how nervous I looked. He tugged on my hand until I looked at him. "Don't worry about it. You are the most beautiful woman in that room, and you are all mine."

My heart melted with his words and I smiled up at him. "Thank you. For everything."

After that night, I barely noticed the stares.

* * *

**Just so everyone knows, this story is basically just about Rose's relationship with Scorpius. From experience with my own relationship, any couple has difficulties, no matter how in love they are, and that's the story that I want to tell. **

**In the books I always seemed to enjoy the 'boring' parts more – where they're just hanging out together and doing normal stuff. Whenever I re-read the novels I tend to skip over the big exciting parts, probably because they are so important to the plot that I remember exactly what happens every time. But anyway, I want this story to be about Rose and Scorpius and their lives (whether it be together or apart).**

**As always, enjoy and please review!**


	5. Green and Silver Undergarments

**Yes, I am back! And as a lovely reviewer pointed out, yes I am a cat person; I own three cats and spend far too much time being entertained by them, embarrassingly enough. Enjoy!**

**Green and Silver Undergarments, with Firewhisky**

I woke slowly, unwillingly. It was warm and soft in bed and… mmm… smelt really good. I snuggled further into the source of this, a dreamy smile spreading across my face.

Then, it was moving, shifting… groaning? I opened my eyes slowly, apprehensive. At first all I could see was a tanned expanse of skin. As my eyes adjusted, I could make out an arm, a smooth chest rippled with muscle, and further up, a pair of stormy grey eyes gazing down at me. I felt my cheeks flush with heat. Scorpius smirked at me.

"Hey," he whispered, pushing a strand of hair out of my face, then bringing his hand to rest on the curve of my waist. It seemed to be quite a favourite thing for him.

"Hey," I whispered back, subconsciously placing a hand on his chest, over his heart. A shiver seemed to go through him. Realising what I did, I tried to take my hand away, but he held it there with one of his own. He leaned down and kissed me, enveloping me in the sweet smell of him. It was so good to be able to kiss him, as I had been dying to do for so long. And we definitely did a lot of that last night.

I giggled, remembering the look on Scorpius' face when I started to undress.

He raised an eyebrow at me as he pulled back to gauge my expression. "What?" he asked, suspicious.

I smiled innocently up at him. "Just thinking about last night."

"Oh really?" He grinned at me, a devilish look appearing in his eyes. Oh shit. I gasped.

He moved so quickly I barely saw what happened. One second he was lying next to me, the next he was hovering over me, knees between my slightly spread legs and an arm on either side of my head. The position made all the muscles in his arms and chest tighten and stand out against his skin. I'd almost forgotten he was shirtless. A delicious warmth spread deep within me. My body was definitely reacting to his not-so-subtle hint, but now was so not the time.

As an attempt to distract myself, I tried to distract him.

"You know, I'm actually feeling pretty hungry for once." He just smirked at me and leaned down to kiss my neck. His warm lips sent a tingling current through my system that I could feel all the way down to my toes. I swallowed loudly, struggling to regain my determination. "You wouldn't want to miss this divine opportunity to see me eat breakfast, would you?" My voice sounded much too breathy for someone trying _not_ to succumb to her boyfriend's seduction.

"If I didn't know any better," Scorpius breathed against my neck, "I would think you were trying to distract me."

"Oh believe me, I would love to go where you're thinking of, but I really am hungry." It was true; for the first time in months, my stomach was growling at me. Generally I had to make myself eat, because obviously I need sustenance to survive, but I can't remember the last time I actually enjoyed food.

Scorpius looked vaguely disappointed, but rolled off of me, unwilling to take the chance of distracting me from food. I checked outside the curtains to make sure we were alone. All the beds were empty, meaning the rest of the guys in Scorpius' dorm – including Albus – had already left to go to breakfast.

"Coast is clear," I informed Scorp, who was looking deliciously ruffled, propped up on one elbow with a bare chest. He looked like a blond Adonis. No Rose, I told myself, food. You need food. Please restrain yourself.

I climbed out of Scorpius' bed, almost falling over in the process. I glared at him when he started laughing at me. He shut up like a clam. I quickly located my clothes from yesterday, pulling them on over my underwear.

Before there is any misplaced assumption as to what happened last night; Scorpius and I did not sleep together. Well, we did sleep in the same bed, together, but there were no sexual activities going on. Okay there was a lot of making out and some exploring of each other's bodies, but I swear that's it. I did not need to be falling into that trap again so soon.

Scorpius climbed out of bed after me, almost distracting me again. Damn this kid looks good in just his boxers. He could totally be a male model. I hopped up and down a few times to get my jeans over my ass properly. Sometimes clothes were way too much trouble than they were worth. I picked up my shirt, which had a large stain on the front of it. I groaned. I had completely forgotten about it. Last night at dinner Al had made an inappropriate comment about Scorpius and I, _conveniently_ while I tried to take a drink, resulting in pumpkin juice all down my front.

I held the offending piece of clothing up. "There is no way I can wear this in public. And I am _so_ not walking up seven goddamn flights of stairs just for a clean shirt."

"Don't worry about it," Scorpius told me. "You can borrow this." He chucked a large bundle at me, which when I caught it turned out to be a blue sweater.

"This is like five sizes too big," I pointed out. Scorpius just shrugged, pulling on his own jeans and shirt. I sighed. Looks like the stealing Scorpius' clothes part of the relationship had already started again. I pulled the sweater on, adjusted my hair so it fell just so down my back and over my shoulders.

I turned to Scorpius. "Can you tell that I spend a night in my boyfriend's bed doing the dirty and am now shamefully going to breakfast in his clothes because my own are ruined?"

He tugged on one of my curls. "Rose, you look beautiful, like always. And if you don't hurry up and get your cute little ass out that door right now those clothes are coming right back off again."

I giggled, pulling on my shoes and grabbing my bag. Scorpius took hold of one of my hands and led me out of the Slytherin Common Room. Thankfully, there wasn't anyone in there to see my walk of shame.

The Great Hall was full of people, and decorated bottom to top with all sorts of Halloween-themed stuff. I had totally forgotten that it was October 31st, and that tonight there would be the annual Halloween feast. And then the annual sixth- and seventh- years party in the Room of Requirement. Good thing I chose today to be desperately hungry.

We sat at the Slytherin table, like usual, across from Albus.

"Hey Albus," I said brightly, stealing his almost-full glass of pumpkin juice and quickly draining it. He glared at me, and I smiled widely at him.

"Hey you, too," he replied, glancing from me to Scorpius and back again, eyes finally resting on the sweater I was wearing. He grinned. "So it's finally official."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," I said casually, piling my plate full of food. Both of them stared at me as I started shovelling sausage and then bacon into my mouth.

"You weren't kidding," Scorpius said slowly, as if he couldn't believe his own eyes.

"I told you," I said. Well I tried to. It came out more like "mm ol mu".

"Charming. Really charming," Albus said, a faint look of disgust on his face. Scorpius just laughed and placed a hand on my thigh under the table. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, wondering exactly what he was up to. His expression remained one hundred per cent innocent.

The post arrived just then, owls swooping in through what seemed like the open sky (the magical ceiling that looks like the sky outside), dropping letters and parcels all over the place. It has always amazed me how accurate they can be, dropping their burdens at just the right time so that it lands in front of the right person. I jumped when a letter landed in my bacon, an owl I just had time to recognise as mum's flying off straight away. I looked at Scorpius, then Al, almost too nervous to pick up the letter and open it. It wasn't coloured red, and it hadn't yet exploded, so I think it was safe. Scorpius squeezed my thigh comfortingly.

I picked up the letter gingerly, one corner now stained with bacon grease. The writing on the front was definitely my mothers. My heart was in my throat as I opened it and quickly scanned through her elegant writing.

Rose,

Thank you for your letter last week. I admit I am thankful that it was I and not your father who received it, as I am sure he would have had a much different reaction if I hadn't broke it to him gently. Your brother (and your cousin James) both sent me and your aunt Ginny similar letters, but I am glad you realised your responsibility to tell us yourself.

I assume you are taking the proper precautions in regards to your time spend with young Scorpius; I can assure you I do not want any grandchildren just yet.

I have no issues regarding this relationship, as long as your grades remain outstanding.

Much love,

Mum.

My face burned as a read, then re-read the reply. Did she actually just tell me to use protection? Holy shit.

"How thoughtful of her," Scorpius said drily, having read the letter over my shoulder. I don't think I had been so embarrassed in my whole life.

"What did she say?" Albus demanded, disliking information being withheld from him.

"Basically gave us her permission… In a rather crude way," I said slowly, my brain still reeling from what I had just read. That was _so_ not cool. I shuddered just knowing that my own mother thought I was sleeping with Scorpius. Wasn't she supposed to hold on to some ridiculous notion that I would stay a virgin until I married, or something?

"Better than the letter I got. If you could even call it that." Scorpius loaded his plate with food, as if he wasn't even worried about the reply my mother had given me. True, though, that Scorpius' letter from his father was more like a note than anything. All it said was "We will discuss this when you return home for Christmas." That was it, no preamble or news about his family.

Scorpius had said it was a good thing though, his father wasn't one for long letters, and it wasn't a howler. After pushing mum's letter into Al's hands – he was still confused – I continued to eat my huge plate of food. I followed it with another glass of pumpkin juice, surprised that I managed to eat it all and quite pleased that I had. I could already feel it going to my hips.

"I hope you haven't stained my sweater," Scorpius told me, carefully scanning the blue material over my chest. I could almost feel the heat of his gaze through the wool. I blushed.

"Of course I haven't. I long ago perfected the art of eating without making a mess."

Albus snorted. "Yeah, I remember that time when you spilt a whole bowl of spaghetti on that brand new white dress aunt Hermione bought you." I groaned at the memory of the dress.

"That was before I decided to start eating with more grace and dignity," I admitted modestly. Even though I could distinctly remember that I had done it on purpose. It was such a horrid dress. Al and Scorpius scoffed at me.

With a free schedule on our hands, Scorpius and I spent most of the day in the library, attempting to study. Well, _I_ attempted to study while _Scorpius_ spent most of the time alternating between tugging on my curls and throwing scrunched up bits of parchment at various kids at other tables.

"Would you stop that?" I asked him, trying for the life of me to do so calmly. I didn't want to start yelling at him so early in the relationship. Even just _thinking_ the word made me want to smile like a crazy person.

"It's not my fault I can't concentrate with such a beautiful girl next to me." He winked at me with one sleepy grey eye.

"Wow. Smooth," I said, laughing. My tone was light-hearted, but inside my heart fluttered. "Here, I'll help with the introduction."

He handed over his rather pitiful looking scroll of parchment and I spent the next half an hour walking him through the dangers of a wrongly brewed Hiccoughing Solution and how to fix it. When that was done, I was thoroughly tired of all the looks and whispers from people walking past.

"If I have to see one more low-in-self-esteem girl walk past and glare at me, I'm going to hex her," I growl. By happy coincidence, I said it just as a bunch of fifth years were passing. They looked vaguely concerned for their lives and hurried on by.

Scorpius was regarding me with a strangely smug grin.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing."

When Scorpius left afew hours before dinner for Quidditch practice, I made my way to my dorm. It was blissfully empty and I took the opportunity to lie on my bed and read the last few chapters of my Transfiguration textbook. Scorp would have laughed at me for trying so hard to look like I don't try at all. I smile thinking about him, reliving in my memory the amazing night we spent together. I couldn't remember a time when I was so happy, but I couldn't help but feel as though it was a little _too_ good to be true.

I shoved that thought aside as quickly as it occurred to me. I had promised myself to just let things play out how they will. Even if it did end badly, I was going to make the utmost out of it. I immersed myself in the reading, effectively forgetting my worries. Aphrodite jumped up on the bed with me, contenting herself with curling up next to my head on the pillow.

I was just finishing when I heard the sound of voices coming up the stairwell outside the dormitory door. Realising it must be dinner-time, I quickly threw on my school robes and shoes and left, bypassing the girls from my dorm. I was so not hanging around for whatever inquisitive questions that they no doubt had for me.

I was out of breath by the time I reached the Entrance Hall, hastened by the thought of seeing Scorpius again. I sat at the Slytherin table by myself – Al and Scorpius weren't there yet. I felt awkward sitting there when my family was pretending they weren't looking at me from across the hall. I jiggled my leg under the table impatiently, barely noticing the splendour of the Great Hall in all its Halloween finery. Real bats fluttered around the floating candles, squeaking at one another. I noticed distractedly a few girls nervously watching them, probably worried they would attack at any second.

Finally Scorp and Al arrived, looking as dishevelled as only seventeen-year-old boys can. I couldn't help the huge smile that spread across my face. Scorpius spotted me as soon as he walked in and an identical smile to mine was on his face. Al rolled his eyes and acted as though he was going to throw up. When he sat down across from me, I kicked him in the shin, frowning at him.

"Ow!" he complained as Scorpius sat on my left, wrapping an arm around me and kissing me on the cheek.

"Hey."

"Hi," I replied, blushing. Damn that boy smells good. It's like a mixture of sexiness, confidence and male all piled into one irresistible scent.

"What'd you end up doing after I left?" Scorpius asks, tapping his fork against his empty plate.

"Reading." I watched as the Headmaster rose from his seat at the centre of the staff table. He didn't walk to the stand positioned in front of it – he was too lazy for that. Instead, he just put his hands up to silence the room.

I tried to pay attention as he spoke, but all I could feel was the sudden presence of a very warm hand resting on my knee. Looking out of the corner of my eye, I saw Scorpius smirking slightly. I renewed my attempts to listen but was distracted once again when the hand on my knee began to very slowly trail up my thigh, deftly dipping under the hem of my skirt and resting there. His fingers drew circles on my skin, tantalizingly slow.

Warmth flooded through me, a foreign feeling that had me pressing my thighs together. I could have sworn I felt Scorpius' silent chuckle. He must have noticed the movement. I gripped the edge of the bench we were sitting on in an effort to control my erratic feelings. I tried to keep my other hand steady as I took a drink of pumpkin juice. Putting it back down, I misjudged the distance and it clipped the edge of my plate, tipping over and spilling across the table. Oops.

Those at the table around us and from the Hufflepuff table parallel to us stopped listening to the Headmaster to give me amused looks. I ignored them, unsuccessfully mopping up the mess with a napkin that had already been soaked. Scorpius withdrew his hand from my leg to help and I couldn't help but feel the loss of warmth.

The Headmaster finished his speech and food appeared on the table.

I couldn't even remember if I attended the feast last year, but this year, I piled my plate high. Scorp and Al joked around, laughing about ridiculous things that might not have otherwise amused me, but the atmosphere was so light and heart-felt that I couldn't help but laugh along.

I had a huge slice of apple pie with vanilla cream, which Scorpius kept stealing bites of, even though he had his own treacle tart.

Overall, it made me feel what I hadn't felt in a long time: contented and happy.

After dinner, I followed Al and Scorpius down to the Slytherin Common Room to get ready for the party. I already had the clothes I wanted to wear on under my robes, so there wasn't much point of going all the way up to the Gryffindor Tower. Like seriously, those stairs are death.

I lounged around on Scorp's bed while he and Al changed – Al behind the curtains of his own bed and Scorpius in plain view, grinning at me the whole time. I had removed my robes and left them on the bed, having only to run my fingers through my hair in an effort to bring my curls to order. Straightening my striped woollen sweater and adjusting my skirt, I watched as Al extracted two bottles of Firewhisky from his trunk. I stared with wide eyes at him while he just grinned at me.

"How on earth did you manage to get them in here? And how the hell did they not break?" I asked, awed in spite of myself.

"Hey, don't give him too much credit," Scorpius said. I turned to him, about to ask why, when I saw him holding another four bottles.

I raised my eyebrows. "What, are you supplying the whole party or something?"

Al snorted. "I keep forgetting that you weren't with us when we were sneaking into these parties when we were fifth years. Believe me, Rose, this is just the beginning."

Just as I was wondering how they were planning on transporting the illegal (by school standards) alcohol up to the seventh floor when one of their dorm mates appeared with a box of canary creams. He looked confused to see me standing there, but didn't even blink at the bottles of Firewhisky.

"Ah! Peter, you're just on time!" Al looked pleased, accepting the box from him with an awkward clap on the shoulder. He set the box on the closest bed and started removing all the desserts.

"What the hell?" I could see what it was that he was doing but my brain hadn't yet clicked about the purpose. No one answered me, too focused on being proud of their brilliance. When the box was empty, Al set his two bottles, plus Scorpius' four, in the bottom of the box and started laying the creams back on top. By the time he was finished, there were smudges of cream on the cover of the bed and you couldn't even tell what was in the bottom of the box.

I had to admit, though I was still a little dubious, if this actually worked it was pretty ingenious. I assumed they had charmed the cardboard of the box to be stronger; otherwise the bottles would just fall straight through. Given they had even thought of that in the first place of course.

We left the dungeons as a fairly large group, made up of sixth- and seventh-years. The overall mood was spirited and open, but as we ventured further towards the more frequently inhabited areas, the laughter died down and we were all silent. I saw another couple of canary cream boxes but I had no idea if they contained innocent sweets or more bottles of Firewhisky. Reaching the first floor, the group separated into pairs or smaller groups of three so as to reach the seventh floor in different ways.

Scorpius, Al and I took a much less direct way, using just about every secret passageway we could collectively think of to avoid detection. I'm pretty sure one of the seventh years had planned to create a distraction somewhere near the Hospital Wing to attract the attention of any wandering staff members. We arrived on the seventh floor after about twenty minutes.

Al paced back and forth in front of the right part of the wall, next to that ridiculous portrait of the overzealous knight and his horse. The door appeared and we entered, greeted by the pleased shouts of some of the people from the beginning of our group downstairs. Scorpius and Al grinned at each other, perfectly at ease with the situation. I, on the other hand, felt rather awkward in this unfamiliar position. Scorpius had handed the box off to someone and had wrapped an arm around my waist, chatting animatedly with Albus.

I spotted James in a corner talking to a couple of his friends, a glass filled with amber liquid already in his hand. I wondered if that came from the bottles we brought up here and how he would react if he knew. I saw Fred walk past and I don't think he even realised it was me hiding in the curve of Scorpius' arm. He was too intent on a group of Ravenclaw girls a few metres away to notice much of anything.

Someone walking past offered me a drink from a tray, smiling. I stared at it, unsure what to do, when Scorpius reached over and grabbed two of the proffered glasses, thanking the guy holding the tray. When he walked off, Scorp handed me one of the glasses, smiling down at me.

"I promise it will be fun," he said, wrapping an arm around me again once I took the drink and pulling me closer. Feeling safe in his arms and knowing that between him and Al I wouldn't be left alone for a second to make a fool of myself, I sipped at the Firewhisky. It burned on the way down, making me wrinkle my nose and scrunch my eyes closed.

The music started then, coming from no particular direction but everywhere all at once. It trembled through my bones, making me ache with the need to dance. Feeling bold, I downed the rest of my drink, set the empty glass down on a nearby table, and pulled Scorpius by the hand towards the middle of the room. There was already a heap of people there, dancing to the reverberating music and smiling as though they had no troubles in the world.

I stood with my back against Scorp's chest, swaying my hips back and forth to the music, eyes closed, completely entranced by the moment and the feelings it created within me. I had no cares; the whisky was slowly doing away with those. With Scorpius' hands on my waist and his warm face pressed into the curve of my neck, I felt light and free. No way was I going to let go of this new range of emotions in a hurry.

I have no idea how long we danced for, or how many drinks we each consumed. I was constantly at Scorpius' side, with Al appearing every now and then to add a sarcastic comment here and there. At one point I'm pretty sure I saw him making out with someone in a corner, but that could have been James, I don't know.

Scorpius and I stood at the edge of the room, me standing in front of him while he had his arms around me, and I sipped at my drink. "Do you wanna get out of here?" he whispered against my neck, making me shiver. I giggled and blushed for no apparent reason. Or maybe there was a reason… Who the fuck knows? We left anyway, Scorpius informing Al of what we were doing. He looked at us suspiciously before nodding and going back to talking to some Slytherin girl.

I didn't really realise where we were going until I saw the loveseat that I had spent so many nights on.

"Well isn't this romantic," I said, giggling again. Scorpius didn't reply, just looked at me with his beautiful grey eyes, the emotion behind them unreadable to the intoxicated me. I blinked up at him. "Whaaaaaat?"

He kissed me then, pushing me back against the bookcase. The same bookcase that we had started our relationship against not so long ago. I could feel the intense desire burning behind his kiss and the way his hands grasped my hips, pulling me closer to him. It fuelled the desire I felt behind my navel, making me crave more and more of his touch.

Scorpius pulled back, resting his forehead against mine and breathing in deeply in an attempt to regain some of his self-control. My body clearly was not comfortable without him pressed against it, aching as though it was literally painful for me to be apart from him. My mind, however, was starting to recover some sense and I stopped straining towards him.

"Maybe we should lie down for a while," I suggested with a smile. He smiled gratefully back at me and led the way over the loveseat. We lay down together, Scorpius on his back and me half on top of him with my head resting on his chest.

I was almost completely asleep when I felt him move slightly underneath me. I heard a whisper, almost too soft to hear, "I love you."

By morning, I couldn't remember a thing.

**Wow it's been a while… I guess that's what happens when you have two weeks of holidays, go home and eat way more food than you should. So sorry about the long wait, I promise the next chapter will not take anywhere near as long. Also, chapter 6 (the next chapter) will be from Scorpius' point of view, seeing as everyone (including myself) is dying to see how he feels.**

**I just feel like I need to mention the fact that this story takes place like, what, 25 years after the original books, so it should be fairly accepted that things are different and standards they may have had while Harry &amp; co. were at school may not be the case anymore. So please keep this in mind while reading! I made an extra effort to finish this and get it out there for you guys today/tonight because I felt so bad about how long it's been. Pretty please review because (you've probably heard this a lot, but…) it makes me feel like writing! Which brings you another chapter!**


	6. I Surrender (Scorpius' POV)

"_Round one I couldn't believe it  
You came and knocked me out  
With those killer eyes  
You stopped my heart from beating  
Without saying a word  
Took me by surprise_

_You got me good, I knew that you would  
Did the best that I could  
But girl you move like a butterfly, butterfly  
Then you sting like a bee  
I tried to be bulletproof, you got to me  
Gonna stand out tonight, turn out the lights  
Give up the fight  
I surrender"_

'_Surrender' by The Collective_

**^The above lyrics were my inspiration for parts of this chapter :) and the title haha. 'Choose You' by Stan Walker was another inspiration. **

**I Surrender**

**(Scorpius' Point of View)**

I woke this morning with a goddamn pounding headache. Can't say I'm too surprised after getting only four hours sleep. I needed coffee, badly.

I hauled myself out of bed, groaning as I threw back the covers and the cold air hit my bare skin. Al, getting ready next to his bed beside mine, glanced over at me.

"I'm almost surprised to see my cousin isn't in there with you," he said casually. I rolled my eyes.

"I've told you before; it's not like that. We both know she deserves better than that." Too bad I'd only just begun to realise that.

"Doesn't mean you don't want it to happen."

"Can we not discuss this? It's way too weird seeing as she's your _cousin_." I almost fell over trying to put my jeans on too quickly. I was too busy picturing the coffee I was soon going to be drinking.

Al snorted. "She may be my cousin, but I'm not blind. Or an idiot, for that matter. You two clearly have feelings for each other, and those feelings are beginning to manifest in a multitude of different ways."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Would you quit talking in riddles and speak plain English?"

Albus gave me a pointed look. "The Halloween party. You two were all over each other and it could not have been more obvious. You should have seen James' face when he saw you guys, it was spectacular." He grinned at the memory, probably happy that something he helped put in motion was annoying his brother. Personally, I hoped it was giving James nightmares.

"Let's just go to breakfast, okay? I need caffeine to function right now." Al agreed and we left to go to the Great Hall.

It wasn't just coffee I needed. I was impatient to see Rose. I hadn't seen her since the morning after the party, and that was two days ago. And waking up to the smell of vomit wasn't exactly the most romantic way to say good morning to someone. She'd spent most of that day in her bed, sleeping off the remains of all the alcohol she'd consumed. I couldn't believe I hadn't kept a closer eye on how much she'd had. Probably because I'd had too much myself.

Maybe it was good in a way though. She had let her hair down and had a good time. And I had to admit she was pretty damn hot the way she was dancing up against me like that. I couldn't deny that that had seriously turned me on. When we were alone and making out… it had taken every inch of my self-control not to take her right there and then.

Who knows how I would be feeling right now if it had've gone differently. I didn't want her thinking it was like last time. I needed to prove that I was serious about us, and I couldn't do that if all we ever did was fucked.

We walked up the stairs from the dungeons only for me to get cornered by Alexis Clearwater. I was confused for about half a second before remembering she was my new partner in Herbology. Al wrinkled his nose when he saw her.

"I am so not postponing my bacon or this. I'll save your seat." He clapped me on the shoulder and I glared at his retreating back as Alexis bounded up to me, some ridiculous smile plastered on her face. Oh boy.

She started chattering on about our assignment and to be honest I wasn't really listening, just nodding along and saying "yeah" where applicable. Not that the girl left much oxygen in the air to even formulate a response.

Then I saw her over Alexis' shoulder. She was coming down the stairs, auburn curls bouncing over her shoulders, long legs peeking through the opening of her robes with every step – absolutely gorgeous.

I think my heart actually stopped as I watched her walk towards the Great Hall doors, her bag swinging on her shoulder. I almost thought she wouldn't notice me with all the other students filling the hall, but then she turned her head and our eyes met.

Those piercing blue eyes, contrasted perfectly by her full red lips, took all of two seconds to see who I was talking to (or who was talking to me) and turn ice cold. I watched as the smile forming on her lips disappeared and she turned and walked straight through the doors into the Great Hall.

Wait, what just happened?

"I'm sorry, I've gotta go," I said to Alexis, completely cutting her off mid-sentence. I pushed my way to the doors, my heart fluttering uncomfortably in my chest. Entering, my eyes immediately went to the Slytherin table, I found Al sitting there, apart from the rest, and very much alone. I frown, my eyes scanning the rest of the hall. Then I saw Rose sitting my herself at the Gryffindor table.

I didn't even give it a second of thought, just stalked right over there and sat down across from her. "Why are you sitting over here?" I demanded, trying to bury my feelings of anger and confusion.

She looked up at me quickly before looking back at her toast.

"Why does it matter?" she asked bitterly. I was taken aback. What was her issue?

"It _matters_ because I want to know why my _girlfriend_ doesn't want to sit with me!"

"Maybe I just wanted to sit at my own house table for once. There isn't anything wrong with that."

"No, there isn't. But there is something wrong with you ignoring me – I know you saw me! – and then sitting over here with no warning or reason."

She raised her head to glare at me. If I wasn't so captivated by how beautiful she was with that fierce look in her eyes, I probably would have been a little scared. "What are you, my father? I shouldn't need to explain to you my every decision!"

My head jerked back as though she had slapped me. What was her problem? She had been avoiding me since the morning after the party, and now this? Had I done something at the party without realising, and I just can't remember? I thought my memories of the night were pretty clear, but I could be wrong. I kinda assumed Al would have told me if I did something stupid.

"Look, why don't you just go back to your own table," Rose put down the piece of toast she had been picking apart, "Al's giving us weird looks."

I didn't bother turning around to see if it was true; I could practically feel his gaze on the back of my head. I shook the hair out of my eyes, the frustration building further in my chest.

I hadn't even had my coffee yet.

Rose stood up, barely looking at me, and stalked out of the Hall.

I looked at her abandoned plate and swore under my breath. Nothing on it had been eaten. I should have at least waited until she had finished her breakfast before pouncing on her. She still hadn't gained back the weight she'd lost, and God knows when the last time she had eaten was. Fucking hell.

I got to my feet and followed her out into the Entrance Hall. She was part way up the stairs to the upper levels and didn't even pause when I called out her name.

Taking the stairs three at a time, I caught up easily – thank goodness she has short legs, even better that she was wearing heels. She wouldn't be able to run from me.

I caught hold of her arm, stopping two steps below her. If she turned her head we would be on eye level. But she was refusing to look at me.

"What do you want?"

"Rose, please look at me," I begged, not caring if I looked as desperate as I felt. No way was I losing her now after all this time trying to gain her trust back. When she still didn't look at me, I sighed in frustration and stepped up to her level, taking her chin in my fingers and tilting her head up. Her eyes were angry as they finally met mine, defiant. Anyone else would only see the anger there and run. But I could see the hurt she was trying to hide and no way was I going to abandon her if she needed me.

She jerked her chin out of my grasp and crossed her arms over her chest. Part of my brain couldn't help but notice how cute she looked right then.

"Why don't you just go back to breakfast? I'm sure Alexis wouldn't mind sharing your eggs with you." Rose went to turn away, but I caught hold of her arm again.

"Are you fucking serious? That's what you're so pissed at me for?" I couldn't believe it. She had turned into this she-demon out of jealousy? "For someone so smart, you sure are stupid sometimes," I snapped, my patience wearing very thin.

Rose yanked her arm out of my grip, glared at me, and slapped me.

I stared at her in disbelief, my cheek stinging where her hand had made contact. We stood there and stared at each other and I watched as tears slowly filled her eyes.

When she turned and started climbing the stairs, I didn't follow.

I spent the rest of the day out on the Quidditch pitch, practicing needlessly for an upcoming match. It wasn't even until after the Christmas holidays and my team captain wasn't likely to schedule practices until then, but I needed to do something to stop my brain from exploding. I still didn't entirely comprehend Rose's attitude this morning, but even I have to admit that I could have been a little less insensitive and more understanding.

I knew that Rose had always had feelings for me, although we've never really talked about it, well pretty much since our fourth year anyway. It had been pretty apparent when she had kissed me.

My feelings back then towards her still haunted me sometimes when I was alone or trying to sleep. I had acted like such an asshole. And to what end? Rose stopped talking to me for over a year. Until Al finally convinced me that I needed to be friends with her again.

I guess it was then that I started being honest with myself about just how deep my feelings for her went. God knows how long it would have taken me to realise otherwise.

Realising that it was quickly growing dark and that I had been aimlessly hovering in the air on my broom, lost in my thoughts, I flew to the ground and dismounted.

I had to go talk to her. It took longer than my nerves could handle to put away my Quidditch gear and change into clothes that weren't splattered with mud. I had a feeling that I knew where she would be.

I passed Al in the Entrance Hall on his way back to the dorm to change for dinner. I told him where I was going and he just smirked at me. Prick.

Walking up seven flights of stairs in order to apologize to your pissed girlfriend gives you way too much time to think about all the ways it could go wrong. Something was obviously bothering Rose and I was stupid to think that everything would be just dandy once I asked her out. We needed to talk about what happened in fourth year.

Arriving at the door to her secret room, I had to gulp down my worries before even gaining the courage to open it.

When I walked in I at first thought that I was wrong and she wasn't in here. then my eyes adjusted to the dim light and saw that she was half curled up on the loveseat, asleep. Well I guess all those nerves were for nothing then. She had probably been waiting for hours for me to suck up my pride and come talk to her.

Leaning over her, I brushed a curl out of her face, trailing my fingers down over her cheek. The skin around her eyes was red and slightly puffy. I swallowed hard, my heart heavy in my chest. She'd been crying. Over me being an asshole no doubt.

I'd never known anything to upset to enough to cry before, not even when Ian Mccullers decided to torment her in our third year for having red hair.

I sat on the ground quite ungracefully, once again lost in my thoughts. I had stood up for her that day. I'd told Ian to get lost and when he'd said something about telling his father I told him to go fuck himself and did he know who _my _father was? Not my brightest moment seeing as I ended up with detention for swearing, but it was worth it.

Rose had been thankful to me for that, giving me one of her shy smiles. I think that's when we became friends, and it started to become second nature for me to stand up for her.

She shifted then on the seat, one arm slipping off the edge to dangle in mid-air. I leaned over to gently place it back on the seat. That's when I noticed the bottle.

It was lying on its side, half hidden under the seat. Apprehensive, I reached over and picked it up. I didn't recognize the label, but I did read the name and details on the sticker on the side of it.

I looked up at Rose, so small and innocent-looking, my heartbeat picking up in fear. I shoved the bottle in my pocket. When she didn't respond or even stir to my shaking her shoulder, I went to the door and opened it wide before going back to Rose and lifting her gently into my arms.

The trip down to the dungeons was a slow one. I had to be careful on the stairs not to trip and kept a vigilant eye out for any teachers. The last thing I needed was questions. I already had enough of those of my own.

Dinner was still in progress when I walked into the Entrance Hall with Rose in my arms and I was glad to avoid all the attention that would undoubtedly bring otherwise.

Reaching my dorm not long after, I set Rose carefully down on my bed and drew the curtains so she was hidden from view of the door.

The nervous energy bubbling up inside me was making me feel sick. Or maybe it was because I hadn't eaten all day. But then neither had Rose and she had gone and taken some pills that I knew nothing about.

I was pacing the room when Albus walked in. I glanced nervously behind him, hoping our roommates wouldn't be joining us anytime soon.

"Scor? What's wrong? Why are you pacing like that?" He was concerned, that was easy to see. So I decided he would be the one to help me.

I got the pill bottle out from my pocket and held it out towards him. "Do you know anything about these?" I watched Al take the bottle and read the label and sticker, shifting impatiently from one foot to another. Al looked back up at me, frowning. I did not like the expression on his face one bit.

"Well I do remember overhearing mum and Aunt Hermione talking about how Rose needed help getting to sleep sometimes. But what's that got to do with anything? Why do you have these?"

I walked back to the bedside and drew back the curtain so Al could see Rose lying there. His face dropped as he rushed to her. He checked her breathing and heartbeat before trying to shake her awake.

"I carried her down here from the seventh floor, if she was gonna wake up that easily, I'm pretty sure that would have done the trick."

Al gave me a look as if to say this was _not_ the time for joking and sure I knew that but I needed to do something to stop myself from tearing my hair out.

"I never knew," I said softly, sitting down on the edge of the bed with my head in my hands.

"None of us did. I guess she didn't want anyone to know."

"When was it that you over heard your mum talking to hers about it?" I was hoping it wasn't what I thought.

"I don't know, during Christmas in our fifth year, I think." Albus paused and I looked up at him, my expression pained. "Come on you can't blame this on yourself. It wasn't your fault what happened."

I looked away. "It was. You just don't know the whole story."

"Well maybe you should explain. I would like to know why my cousin thought it was necessary to resort to _sleeping pills_ to get to sleep!"

I stood, facing Al, resolved. "Look. I care about her just as much as you do. I never meant to be such an asshole to her. You already know that we were more than friends. I wasn't thinking straight and may have not realised just how much she would read into it."

Al narrowed his eyes at me. "That's still not enough of a reason."

"Let's just say I tried to take things six steps too far and she was confused. She was all for it, but said something about it meaning we were dating…" I swallowed. Wow this was hard. I tried to ignore the growing anger in Al's eyes and continued. "I laughed at her okay? I said that it wouldn't mean anything anyway so she shouldn't think too much into it."

We were silent for a moment. "I hope she slapped you hard."

I snorted without humour. "She punched me in the face before walking off."

Al looked pleased with that and I was just hoping he wasn't going to punch _me_ in the face. I looked over at Rose, who was still deeply asleep. I felt like punching myself in the face. Repeatedly. What had my actions done to her that she wasn't telling anyone?

**Aaaand it's finished. I actually loved writing this chapter… and I am so excited because I have so much planned for the next 5-6 chapters! :3 Shit is gonna go downnnnnnnn. Hehe. Please review! I love hearing feedback on my work. By the way, thank you to **I thought I was the only one**, who corrected by spelling of mom/mum in the last chapter! I am not from the UK, so I took a guess and assumed it would be the same as the American spelling, oops haha.**


	7. I Know Places

'_I'm sinking inside  
And the masts and lines are broken down tonight.  
I swallow my pride  
But we're drowning in the ocean and it's tearing my heart open_

_Baby, we're high then we're low, first it's yes then it's no, and we're changing like the tides  
Yeah, but I want you, I need you, and I guarantee you we'll make it out alive_

_'Cause I don't wanna fight no more,  
Even when the waves get rough  
I don't wanna see the day we say we've had enough_

_And I don't wanna fight this war  
Bullets coming off our lips  
But we stick to our guns and we love like battleships.'_

'_Battleships' by Daughtry_

**I just had to say thank you so much to my very lovely and hug-worthy reviewers: **Guest, I thought I was the only one **and **Axy**. You were seriously supportive and accepted this story as it is and actually read further than the first chapter! You also all really made my day a couple weeks ago and I would like to dedicate this chapter to you :) (Just as a warning – mature scene at the end!)**

**I Know Places**

I woke disorientated and groggy, not really sure where, or even _when,_ I was. I open my eyes to find Scorpius watching me, the expression in his eyes unreadable. Oh shit.

"Hey," I said softly, my voice rough from sleep. As the events of last night slowly came back to me, a weight in my chest grew heavier and heavier. I cleared my throat. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to react like that yesterday…"

Scorpius placed a hand on the side of my face, trailing his thumb over my cheekbone. It was soothing and made me wish I didn't have to do what I needed to. There was no way I could be with him while remaining sane. Too much had happened between us.

"It was my fault." Scorpius whispered, his voice catching on the last word. My heart constricted. I didn't say a word. "I know it was. After what I said to you in fourth year and then what happened last year... We haven't talked about anything because we were scared it would ruin what we have, but it is ruining us. I found the pills last night, Rose, and I know that what I did is effecting you more than you let on."

"What _we_ did," I corrected him, ignoring the comment about the pills.

"Yes, but if I hadn't been such a pig-headed jerk we would have started dating then, not a year later when so much damage has been done."

I didn't really know what to say. His words were true and it would have saved me especially a lot of pain, but I didn't want to acknowledge it out loud. It was true that what happened last year ensured that we could never go back to just being friends. We had become too close, and both of us knew we wanted more. That much was evident. The only problem was that my heart was fragile, hanging on by a few threads and I had no idea how much longer it could cling before falling to a crushing death.

"Can you forgive me?" Scorpius asked softly, his voice rough. Looking into his eyes, I could see just how much this was hurting him. "Will you at least give me the chance to gain your trust back?"

I pretended to think about it for a minute, staring into those gloriously beautiful yes of his. There had never really been a choice for me.

"Of course I will give you a chance," I whispered. "I couldn't imagine a life without you."

Scorpius smiled a slow, careful smile that warmed my heart. He leaned over and kissed me, just as careful as his smile, but I could feel the passion he was holding back for my benefit. I didn't want to be careful, I wanted to feel loved and wanted, and I wanted him to make me feel like that again. I pressed my hand against his chest, gently digging my fingernails into his skin and slowly dragged them down his chest and stomach. I felt the muscles underneath my fingers tense, and he nibbled on my bottom lip in response.

I deepened the kiss, repeating the action of my nails down his chest. This time, he growled at me and rolled us over so I was sitting on top of him with a leg on either side. I broke away from the kiss and sat up, the movement making me rub against him down _there_, eliciting a delicious feeling that spread throughout me.

I wanted him, and from the feel of it, he wanted me too. I grinned down at him, running my hands down his chest again, making him shiver slightly. Having all the control was definitely empowering. Until he flipped us and I was underneath him. I pouted up at him, making him bite my lip again, grinding his pelvis against me, deliberately doing so as slowly as possible. He knew perfectly well just what that did to me.

"Scorpius," I mumbled against his lips, arching my back into him and digging my fingernails into his shoulders.

"Mmm?" He started kissing down the side of my neck, sucking and nipping at the skin. I moaned, no longer aware of anything outside of my dazzling little bubble of bliss.

"I want you so badly," I whisper into his ear, making my voice sound as husky as possible. His hips involuntarily jerked forward into my most sensitive place, causing me to arch my back and press myself further against him. Why did we still have to be wearing clothes?

Scorpius claimed my lips with his, placing one hand under the small of my back to hold me closer to him. I was definitely feeling again, and if possible it was improving with every second. I loved him, and it killed me that I couldn't tell him. But at least I could show him.

Scorpius pulled away, slightly out of breath and bright-eyed. "I'm thinking – with great difficulty, mind you – that this isn't the best place to do this."

I giggled, cheeks flushed, and nodded my agreement. "Maybe not." He grinned down at me and before I knew what he was doing, he pushed aside the strap of my bra and was sucking on the skin just above my left breast. I gasped as the slight pain turned into a strangely pleasurable feeling. I tangled my fingers in his hair and when Scorp finally released my flesh I looked down to see a bright red circle there, surrounded by the pale cream colour of my skin.

I looked up to see him looking pretty damn proud of himself. Smirking, he pecked me quickly on the mouth before rolling off of me. What an ass, I thought to myself, but then giggled again. If I wasn't careful I would start sounding like a love-struck fourteen-year-old all over again. God forbid should that day ever come.

I located my jeans at the end of the bed but couldn't find my shirt. "Umm, Scorp? What happened to my shirt?"

A ball of fabric was thrown my way. "You were wearing that," Scorpius informed me, pulling on his own clothes awkwardly, half-laying down. Shuffling sounds from outside the curtains suggested that his roommates were up. I flushed bright red, realising they could have easily heard what had been occurring not five minutes earlier. I pulled my clothes on as quickly as possible, and as quietly as possible. The shirt Scorp threw at me turned out to actually be one of his sweaters that I stole. This was _so_ not going to help my case when I did my second walk of shame out of here.

Scorpius smirked at me before exiting the realm of the bed, holding a hand out to me through the curtains. "Come, my fair maiden," he said, adopting a ridiculously pompous voice. With how dramatic we are, we totally belonged together. I snorted and grabbed his hand, scrambling unceremoniously from the bed, almost landing on my ass in the process.

"Honestly woman, how many times do you have to fall for me?" Scorp asked, grinning down at me. Albus, looking distinctly disgruntled on this fine morning, scoffed from his position lying on the floor. I stared at him.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded, wondering not for the first time if my cousin was bloody insane.

"He was trying to find his shoes under the bed and kind of just gave up the will to live in the process," said some guy near the door that I swear I have never in my life seen. I looked at Scorpius questioningly, hoping he would enlighten me as to who the hell this guy was. He certainly didn't seem in the least bit fazed that I had just emerged from Scorpius' bed.

I then realised I was standing in the sixth-year Slytherin boys' dorm room and mentally smacked myself for being so stupid. These guys probably had a different girl in their bed every night, although I seemed to be the only girl awkwardly standing here waiting to be introduced to the rest of the room. The others probably had the forethought to leave before anyone else was awake.

"Peter, leave poor Albus alone. When your hair always looks like that, it really makes you question your life choices," Scorpius said, pulling his own shoes on.

I totally had a lightbulb moment then when Scorpius said the guy's name. He was the one who helped Al and Scorp smuggle the Firewhisky up to the party on Halloween. He had been the one who brought the Canary Creams to the dorm. No wonder I didn't remember, I had been too amazed at the brilliance of that plan – that oddly enough Albus came up with. It's always the quiet, slightly mentally unstable ones that surprise you.

I could definitely do with a Canary Cream right now… a big cup of coffee would be wonderful too. Scorpius placed his hand on the small of my back, holding out my shoes in the other. Right.

Breakfast was sufficiently awkward, what with all this sexual tension between Scorpius and I and Al looking back and forth between us like we were a tennis match. I ate my bacon in silence, listening to Al and Scorp talking about the upcoming Quidditch match in a couple days between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Apparently their captain was making them practice every day until the Christmas holidays in preparation for the match against Ravenclaw after the break.

"You could come practice with us, Rose. Otherwise we all know you will just be sitting in the library being a nerd while you wait for Scorp. I'm sure Bane wouldn't mind," Albus said, trying to draw me into the conversation. I raised my eyebrows at him then looked down the table at the Slytherin Quidditch captain, Avery Bane. A burly seventh-year with some serious arm muscles and an even bigger ego than Scorpius (if that was even possible).

"Hey Bane!" Al called out down the table to get his attention. Bane looked over, confused, until his eyes landed on me. He grinned, got up, and walked right on over.

"I didn't know you two were so into inter-house unity and all that shit," he drawled. If this was the guy trying to act cool, I was so not impressed.

"We were just wondering if my cousin Rose here could join our practice today? She needs some fresh air," Al asked him, grinning at me when I glared at him.

Bane frowned, "Do you mean fly with us, or watch from the stands and cheer us on?"

"I am not going to be your personal cheerleader, thank you very much," I snapped. I felt Scorpius' arm wind around my waist, his arm coming to rest on my hip.

"We meant for her to fly," Scorpius interjected.

Bane appraised me sceptically. "Can she even fly?"

"_She_ is sitting right here, thanks. And yes I can bloody well fly."

And that is how I ended up a thousand feet up in the air, hovering on one of the school brooms, trying not to make even more of a fool of myself. I was 'filling in' for one of the Chasers who was apparently sick today. I wouldn't be surprised if the guy was just hiding in his room to get away from these loonies.

They practiced as though it was an actual match, with Bane non-stop shouting instructions to everyone. The funny thing was that it was not unlike the 'friendly' matches we had at home on holidays and stuff when everyone was together. We Potter-Weasley's sure could play a dirty game of Quidditch.

After an hour and a half I was exhausted and covered in mud. It had started raining and I was soaked through. The rest of the team looked to be in similar states of saturated, and no way was I going to be the one to complain first. I didn't have to wait very long though.

"Bane, everyone is bloody tired and it's fucking raining," Albus complained, shivering for maximum effect.

"Fine," Bane said, then yelled, "Everyone! Same time tomorrow!"

I just about collapsed onto the muddy ground when I landed, leaning my hands on my knees to support myself. Scorpius landed next to me and gracefully dismounted his broom.

"Why did I agree to this again?" I asked him.

He smirked at me. "Because you wanted to prove to everyone that you are good at Quidditch and better than some of the people on this team." I stared at him. How the hell is it that he knew me so well? Oh right, maybe because I've been friends with him since second year.

We purposefully walked slower than everyone else, ignoring the knowing looks we got from Albus and Bane. Some of the other teammates clapped me on the shoulder or congratulated me for keeping up with everyone as they walked past.

"Too bad you weren't in Slytherin. If you were, Bane would have asked you to be on the team by now," Scorpius told me, intertwining his fingers in mine and kissing me softly.

"Yes, it is too bad, isn't it?" We looked up to see James standing there, a murderous look on his face. "I can't believe you would practice with them Rose!"

"It's none of your business what I do, James!" I snapped at him. "Like I have told you more than once before!" I was so sick of him thinking he knew what was best for me. When he didn't have anything to yell at me for I didn't hear one peep from him, but as soon as I did something he deemed 'not good for me' he swooped in to tell me off.

"Leave her alone, Potter," Scorpius growled, a dangerous glint in his eye.

I tugged at his hand. "Come on, let's just go." He followed, unwillingly.

"You had better listen to her Malfoy. God forbid should you think for yourself for once," James called out after us. I didn't even have time to react before Scorpius swung around and punched James in the face.

"I hope youthree understand what it is that you have been sent here for," Headmaster Gryffin looked from me to Scorpius to James, who was holding a wad of gauze to his nose to stem the blood flow.

"Well I know I do," Scorpius said, a bored expression on his face, "but why is Rose here? She didn't do anything."

"Miss Weasley was found standing in between you, Mr Malfoy, and Mr Potter here, so I assume she is in the middle of whatever this is." Gryffin looked mighty proud of himself for his role in this. Obviously not many students get in enough trouble that they are sent to the Headmaster. It was true that I had placed myself in between these two idiots, but only so that James wouldn't try to hit Scorpius back.

"You will all get a week's worth of detentions. Starting tonight after dinner, you will meet Professor Longbottom in the greenhouses and do whatever he instructs you to. And twenty points each from Gryffindor and Slytherin. Don't be late to your detentions."

We had been dismissed. I was fuming over this whole stupid situation. Scorpius and I watched as James threw us a filthy glare before stalking off in the direction of the Gryffindor tower. I rounded on Scorpius. "Why the hell did you punch him?" I demanded, livid.

He looked taken aback. "He was being a prat! And don't tell me you've been fooled by his sudden concern for you. Your father is probably paying him to break us up."

That was a valid point. "Well you didn't need to punch him for it," I muttered, still annoyed that my perfect record would probably now be tarnished beyond repair.

"Saves you from hurting your pretty knuckles," the grey-eyed idiot said, holding my hand up to his lips to kiss said knuckles. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Can we just go get cleaned up for lunch? I'm starving."

We ended up back in the Slytherin boys' dorm, which was thankfully empty apart from Al, who was already showered and demanding answers. Scorpius explained quickly, wanting as much as me to have a shower. When he got to the part about punching James, a huge grin spread over Al's face.

"I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to look so happy about your brother having a bloody nose," I pointed out to him, slightly concerned.

"Are you serious? I've been wanting to do that for years!"

Scorp patted him on the shoulder. "Sorry I stole your dream, mate."

I laughed and looked longingly in the direction of the shower. "Am I going first or do you want to?" I asked Scorpius.

He smirked ever-so-slightly. "We could always shower at the same time."

Albus slapped his hands to his ears, complaining about not needing to have heard that. I blushed but wanting to hide my nervousness, I grinned at Scorp and stalked into the bathroom. There were fresh towels like usual, which was good, but I realised I didn't have a clean set of clothes. The clothes I wore earlier were in Scorpius' locker in the Slytherin Quidditch locker room, seeing as we had been dragged into the Headmasters office before being able to change.

I swear Scorpius can read my mind, or channel my feelings or something. He walks in with two sets of clothes; one for himself and one for me.

"Thought you might have not realised you have no clothes to change into." He smiles at me, placing the clothes on the bench top next to the sink. He leans against the bench and pulls me to him, kissing me softly. I kiss him back, trying to ignore the mud covering the both of us. I wrap my arms around his neck and it quickly turns intense. I can feel a desperate need building up inside me and although I did my best to squash it down, it kept rising its ugly head and demanding more.

In one swift movement, Scorpius steps us away from the bench, lifts me so my legs wrap around his narrow hips, turns and sits me down next to the sink. I shiver as the cool marble seeps through the material of my pants. Scorpius stops for a moment to lift my shirt over my head and deposits in on the floor with a sodden _plop_.

I giggle and shiver again as the air caresses my bare back and arms. Scorp puts his arms on my hips and pulls me even closer to him, kissing me again, close enough that I could feel the fast pace of his heart. I could also feel a certain _hardness_ pressing against the crotch of my pants and it made me light up inside with a strange warmth.

Barely aware of what I was doing, I dipped my hands under the hem of his shirt, running my fingers up and down his back, eliciting an answering shiver. He halted our kiss a second time in order to take his own shirt off, baring the deliciously toned skin of his chest, throwing it down next to mine. I was sorely tempted to kiss every inch of him, but restrained myself. I leaned back against the cool mirror, happily taking in the view in front of me.

Smirking and slightly out of breath, Scorp ran his hands slowly down my sides, coming to rest at the waist-band of my pants. Before I knew it he was pulling them down and off, stopping only to remove my boots and socks as well. I bit my lip. Did I want this to continue to where I knew it was going to lead?

I knew the answer before I even asked it.

"You may want to lock the door," I murmured, looking through my lashes up at Scorpius. I saw his eyes darken with desire and pleasure at my words, knowing exactly what I meant.

He complied with my wish, also using his wand to cast what I assumed was a non-verbal muffling charm. He then went and turned the shower on hot, slowly filling the room with steam. If possible, it somehow made my need grow further and all coherent thoughts were swiftly fleeing my mind. When he walked back over to me, I distinctly got the impression of a hunter stalking its prey, making my insides quiver in anticipation.

I pulled him back to me, wrapping my legs loosely back around him, running my fingers through his hair. His hands gripped my thighs, creating a pressure that equally that that was building inside me. When I couldn't take it anymore, I fumbled with the button on his pants. He chuckled when I couldn't manage to undo it, and kindly took over unbuttoning it, dropping his pants to the ground and kicking them off with his boots.

I bit my lip again; damn this boy was fine. I watched as his eyes drifted to my lip and my breathing hitched as they grew ever darker. I couldn't believe this was happening, but no way was I going to stop it. I had been waiting far too long.

Fast as a striking snake, Scorpius kissed me, taking the lip I was biting between his own teeth and pulling slightly. I moaned against his lips. He was torturing me, slowly by surely. Pressing my hips further against him, I wondered if maybe I was torturing him too.

"Scorpius…" He started kissing his way down my neck, and I could feel him feeling for the catch on my bra.

He hummed against my throat, sending vibrations through me. "Please," I whispered, and got what I wanted when I felt the taught fabric of my bra loosen. I let him slowly pull it off my arms. I closed my eyes in bliss and tilted my head back as Scorpius continued the teasing kisses and bites along my neck and collarbone.

His hands gradually stroked across my back, moving steadily towards my stomach, then up around my breasts. The asshole was drawing it out as long as possible, making me wait and want more. I squirmed under his hands, trying desperately to make him feel me more. I think the noise that escaped my mouth could best be described as a mewl.

I felt him chuckle again against my shoulder, and as he pulled back to once again capture my lips, his left hand left my side to cradle the back of my neck, while his right finally drifted over my breast, his thumb brushing over my nipple and leaving me convulsing slightly in his arms.

That must have been the last straw of his self-control because he _finally_ discarded my underwear and his own. "Are you sure?" He asked breathlessly. I had barely nodded my consent before I felt him slam into me.

I cried out in ecstasy as all the pressure inside me finally released, erupting into an instantaneous orgasm. Scorpius groaned against my shoulder as he felt me contract around him. After a second, he began to slowly move inside me, building up the pace as that now-familiar pressure built inside me, until the rhythm grew erratic and fast-paced.

Scorpius claimed my lips once again, an arm firmly around my waist as we moved together in perfect alignment. I was on cloud nine, floating on a blissful high. Then reality shattered and I fell from my high, shuddering against him and crying out his name as I orgasmed a second time. Scorpius held on a few seconds longer, long enough to feel every convolution until he too cried out and buried his head in my shoulder.

I sat there for a second, gasping to get my breath back.

What the hell had I just done? That was what a small part of my brain was screaming at me. I ignored it, choosing instead to kiss Scorpius softly when he raised his head to smile weakly at me.

**It feels like it's been months since I last updated, but in reality it's been like, what, two weeks? I've been heaps busy writing essays and other boring stuff :( oh and I'm knitting a blanket, so that's fun! Please review what you thought of the chapter :) **

**By the way, I have adjusted a few details the first few chapters so some things fit better with what I have planned, so do re-read if you get bored waiting for me to update again. Foreshadowing is wonderful, is it not?**


	8. Escape

**Escape**

Cold August turned into rainy October, then into snowy November, and soon enough it was almost Christmas break. Things between Scorpius and I were good, really good, and I couldn't help but feel as though it was much too good to be true.

I snuck into his dorm room to sleep more often than not, and he _always_ got me to read over every single draft of his essays. I knew he was only doing it to make me feel needed, seeing as he had just as good grades as I did. I secretly liked it anyway.

I sat with him and Al each day at the Slytherin table for meals, and I'm pretty sure I've gained back a lot of the weight I'd lost last year thanks to my return to having three meals a day. Scorpius was pretty happy with himself about that.

We hadn't had sex again since that day in the bathroom, mainly because I wanted our relationship to be more than that. Sure the cravings were there, but it was a mutual decision.

See, it wasn't exactly the first time we had had sex. Last year, before we stopped being friends, we were… friends with benefits, I guess you could say. I had wanted to be more than that, and when Scorpius not-so-gently rejected that idea, I called it off. So now here we are, hopefully taking steps in the right direction.

And it seems to be working quite well, even though neither of us have even mentioned the 'L' word - it hangs between us like a golden orb, drawing us together over and over again.

"Miss Weasley, are you listening?" Professor Merida's voice floats to the back of the room, jolting me out of my reverie. Scorpius is giving me a wake-up-you-moron look from his seat beside me. I shrug at him. The whole entire class turns in their seats to stare at me, and I refrain the automatic urge to turn bright red.

"No, Professor," I reply. Honesty is the best policy, right? I hear a faint snort from Scorpius, so I kick him under the table.

"Well I was just telling the class about the most common uses for a bezor. Do you already know them, and therefore need not listen?" She raises his eyebrows at me, and I can faintly see a twinkling in her eyes. Of course she knew that I knew; my essay two weeks ago proved that.

"The most common use for a bezor is as an antidote for poison," I say, wishing everyone would stop staring at me.

"Of course. Can you tell me where I might find one?" Merida asks.

"The stomach of a goat," I answer, and the interrogation is over. Class resumes its original course and Scorpius scribbles a little face on my parchment with its tongue poking out. I smile at him and draw a little love heart on his parchment, which he promptly fills in with an SM + RW. I shake my head at him good-naturedly and continue taking notes.

Sometimes he did the cutest little things that made me want to hope there was more to his feelings, but I refused to allow myself to harbour those thoughts. Not until he actually says that he loves me.

Merida continues on about the different antidotes to various poisons and I drift in and out. Scorpius has to nudge me awake to let me know it's the end of class. I collect my stuff and follow him out of the classroom, yawning as I do so.

"Why are you so tired?" he asks me as we make our way up the stairs to the library. It was kind of a habit of ours, studying in the library together each Monday after classes. Most other days he had Quidditch practice or we would prefer to spend the time in our secret room together, talking.

"Well, in case you don't remember, we were up majority of last night," I say, entwining my fingers with his. He smiles down at me.

"Oh yeah, because you couldn't help but recount half of the _Hogwarts: a History_ for my undoubted benefit." If that last part was sarcasm, I had no idea. I thought it was a great textbook.

"You did ask me something about how the castle was built and stuff, so naturally I had to enlighten you." I grinned innocently up at him. He rolled his eyes in response.

"Sure, but I didn't think you would be so _literal_ about it. I was hoping for some fictional, magical story that had not a lot to do with what actually happened."

I stared at him. "What part of a castle being made literally by magic isn't good enough for you?" I demand, not really sure if I should take him seriously or not.

He grins at me and it's my turn to roll my eyes.

Before we knew it, it was the Christmas holidays, and we were both going home. It would be the first time Scorpius and I wouldn't be able to see each other every day since we started … whatever it was between us. So when I found myself in the living room of my parent's home, I couldn't help but feel sad. Mum and dad rushed to greet me and Hugo, who arrives through the fireplace a few seconds after me.

I put on a smile and pretend that I was happy to be there, basically as I had done each and every holiday for the last two years.

The house was covered in Christmas decorations, and I could tell that mum had gone overboard this year. I didn't have to wait long to find out why.

A few days later, one night after dinner, I was relaxing in my room, flipping through some of my old books and listening to music, when I hear the faint sounds of a hushed argument from downstairs.

I put my book down and open my door slightly to more clearly hear what mum and dad were talking about downstairs. It seemed that Hugo had had the same idea. I see him sticking his head out from his room down the hall.

"What are they arguing about?" I ask him quietly. He raises his eyebrows at me.

"You," he says simply and disappears back into his room. Confused, I try to think of things that they could possibly be arguing about that involves me. Then a cold chill runs down my spine. They were discussing my relationship with Scorpius. Of course.

I steel myself and step out into the hall, take a deep breath, and walk downstairs. I find them in the kitchen, mum putting clean dishes away and dad leaning against the cupboards, a glass of amber liquid in his hand. It was clear they had heard me and stopped talking, but I could tell from the pursed lips and furrowed brows that the argument was far from over.

"What's going on?" I demand, crossing my arms over my chest.

Mum looks up and smiles thinly at me. "Nothing, Rosie, sweetie. Would you like a hot chocolate?"

"I'll have whatever dad's drinking," I reply calmly, and am rewarded with a gasp from mum and a chuckle from dad. "I know you're arguing about me. Or more specifically, _Scorpius._" I watch as they exchange glances. Dad turns away.

"We weren't arguing. We were just _discussing_ some … work related stuff," mum says, running her fingers through her crazy hair.

I raise my eyebrows at her. Mum was never a good liar, and she definitely wasn't fooling me now.

Dad broke first, "We just don't understand why-"

"Ronald!"

"What? She shouldn't be surprised, he is a _Malfoy _for God's sake!" He said Malfoy like it was an impossibly dirty word. Mum just alternating between glaring at him and shooting worried glances at me.

"So you don't approve just because of who his family is? Uncle Harry got over it, why can't you guys?" I demand. I was definitely angry now. Clearly it wasn't just Scorpius' grandparents who were still prejudiced.

Mum was wiping down the kitchen with an annoyed vigour that she only ever did when she was truly pissed off. "I have no issue with your relationship with Scorpius, Rosie. But your father here cannot seem to see past the blond hair." She shot him another look that promised trouble later.

Dad was having none of it. "Well I don't approve. That boys family is full of ex-death eaters and traitors who disgraced the wizarding world! How could you possibly see anything worthy in that boy?" He was yelling now, his face turning a lovely shade of magenta.

I couldn't believe this. Well, I kind of could, because it is my father, but still. I kind of assumed that Mum would have brought him around by now, convinced him that it wasn't nearly as bad as he thought.

There was no chance of me adding any of my thoughts in, however, as Dad was still going. "-and don't even bother asking if he can join us for Christmas lunch, because that is just not going to happen-"

I had finally had enough. I didn't have to words to express how disappointed in my parents I was – mum is included because she's just trying to shut dad up – so I did the only thing I could; I turned and walked away.

Back in my room, I locked my door and put my desk chair in front of it, feeling very childish as I did so. If I listened hard enough I could hear them whispering together downstairs. Good, they weren't going to come barging in to scold me for walking off.

I thought quickly. Finally deciding on a plan of action, I chucked a few things in my shoulder bag. Placing it in the bottom of my laundry basket I heaped some dirty clothes on top, unbarred my door, hesitated for a moment and knocked softly on Hugo's door. He answered after a few seconds, and I smiled wryly at him.

"You gonna be okay for a week?" I ask and by the look on his face I know he understands what I mean.

"I'll say you're going to Uncle George's," he replies and I give him an awkward hug around the basket.

"Thankyou," I whisper and he disappears past me and down the stairs. I hear mum and dad stop talking abruptly, then the sounds of banging around. I slowly walk down the stairs, holding my basket. From here you can't see into the kitchen, but I hear the unmistakable sounds of ice cream sundaes being made.

I smile to myself, Hugo has got to be the best little brother. I walk calmly into the laundry, knowing that if one of them walked in it would only look like I was doing my washing. I waited a second, uncovered my bag and snuck out the back door and around the side of the house, ducking low under the kitchen window.

On the side of the street I stopped, looked back at the house, so quiet-looking and dainty. Too bad it was full of lies.

My parents had helped save the wizarding world, and now that they had settled into domestic and normal life, they were forgetting that they were more important things than prejudices against old enemies.

I stuck out my right arm and almost froze for a second. Oh shit. Where the hell am I going to go? My only thought had been to get out of that damn house, but I didn't seriously think where I wanted to go.

There was a loud bang and a huge purple bus appeared in front of me. I had no time left to decide.

"Hello, my name is Travis Shunpike and I am here to be your conductor for this evening," said the tall and somewhat tired-looking young man from the platform of the bus.

No time left now, Rose. Where did I really want to be?

I stepped up onto the bus, narrowly avoiding collision with Travis, who stepped back at the last second.

"So where are you headed?" he asks, and I try not to stare at the old lady asleep in the bed closest to the door.

"Umm… Malfoy Manor? I don't know the address," I tell him, embarrassed for reasons unclear to me.

He seems to perk up, looking at me closer. I raise my eyebrows at him and he just tells me the price of the ticket. I pay and he leads me to a bed in the middle.

"Thanks," I mutter, wishing he would just go away. I didn't like the way he was staring at my hair, and I had the distinct impression that if I turned around he would be staring at my ass, too.

He finally walked off, probably to the front to tell the driver where I was stopping.

I settled myself down on the top on the bed – no way was I going to go _under_ the sheets, no matter how long it took to get there.

The bus took off with another _bang_ and I had the most unnerving sensation as my bed moved a few inches from the momentum.

I took the time to look in my bag to see what I had to pack in my hurry to go through with this hair-brained escape plan. Drawing book, pencils, perfume, some underwear (which wasn't very sexy at all, so not the most appropriate for a reunion with the love of my life), hair-ties, purse filled with Muggle and wizarding money alike… no changes of clothes. That could be a problem.

I thought about what was going to happen when I arrived there. How were his parents going to react? Would they know who I was when they answered the door? Was Scorpius even home? I don't know how long I spent going through all the hypotheticals before Travis was back and telling me we were at Malfoy Manor.

Nervous as hell, I had to concentrate harder than ever to step off the bus without falling. At least I wasn't wearing heels for once. God, what was I even wearing? I hadn't even thought to change before leaving. Okay, jeans, camisole, push-up bra, over-large wool sweater … not too bad for meeting the parents for the first time.

I ignore the feeling of Travis staring at me from behind and try not to jump when the Knight Bus takes off with a bang.

Surveying the massive wrought-iron gate in front of me, I take a deep breath. I am in way over my head. A simple push of the gate and it opens smoothly, and I'm glad there's no hellish screeching from the hinges. That would be way too creepy in this dark, foreign place. Inside the fence, I see a well-manicured, beautiful garden and a wide, illuminated pathway leading to the front door.

The building was huge, and could only be described as a mansion. Or maybe a castle, if there had've been turrets or towers. Walking up to the front door (which was bigger than a whole wall in my house, by the way) I felt like a dwarf. No wonder why Scorpius was so tall: he had to be in order to feel at home in this giant's house. Despite myself, I giggle at the ridiculous thought

My heart in my throat, I lift the ornate silver knocker and let it fall heavily back against the dark timber with a thud.

I do this a second time, just to make sure, and wait patiently (still scared as hell) for someone to answer.

Finally, I hear the unlocking of bolts and I'm faced with a beautiful, blonde woman who I knew had to be Scorpius' mother. We simply looked at each other for a moment, me too stunned to speak and her calmly and good-naturedly appraising me.

Then she smiled and I knew I would be right at home here. "Hello dear. You must be Rose. I'm Astoria, Scorp's mum. Please, come in."

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**I hadn't fully realised how long it had been since the last chapter, and this one was harder to write than I had anticipated. So I split it in half, so you can read this while I get my ass into gear and write the rest! But I hope you enjoy it anyway! :3**


	9. Spell Bound

Spell Bound

The inside of the Malfoy family home was totally different from what I had imagined. It wasn't cold and empty, but warm and full of life. There was stuff _everywhere_. Furniture, artworks, statues and a lot of decorations that suspiciously looked handmade. It looked normal and full of happy memories.

Mrs Malfoy ushers me across the foyer and through an archway into what looked like a sun room. "I'm assuming Scorpius is not expecting you?" she asks kindly, gesturing me towards a chair and I realise she is indicating for me to sit there.

"Uh, no. It was a last minute decision," I reply, flushing red as I take the offered seat.

"That's okay. I'll just go let him know you're here." she smiled that bright smile again and for some reason it made me feel uncomfortable, like I had been harbouring the same opinions as my father about this family. She leaves and I stare at the cushions on the couch opposite me. They're satin and embroidered and I had the distinct certainty that Astoria had made them herself.

"Rose?" I look up at the doorway to see Scorpius framed in it. He was wearing loose grey pyjama pants that hung nicely on his narrow hips and a plain white t-shirt. I could tell he had been reading by the book hanging from his hand by his side. "Are you okay?" he asks, stepping into the room towards me.

I stand and meet him in the middle, almost falling into his warm embrace. It had been so hard to be away from him, even for such little time, and it was so good to be able to hug him again.

Ten minutes later I was standing in the middle of Scorpius' room, trying to take it all in at once. It was spacious and full of light, mostly thanks to the mini-chandelier, but I could imagine that during the day there would be pure sunlight streaming in through the French doors that I'm assuming led to a balcony.

It was definitely not what I had expected from him, but I can't say I was disappointed. There were an abundance of bookshelves, filled with a mixture of textbooks and leather-bound numbers that did not look like they were cheap.

His bed alone was enough to invoke awe in me. It was a four-posted mahogany masterpiece with draping silver brocade surrounding it. The covers on the bed matched almost perfectly; the dozen or so pillows piled on top looked like they would be heaven to sink into.

"So what happened?" Scorpius asked as he wrapped him arms around me from behind, burying his face in my hair in the crook of my neck. I leaned back into him with a sigh, beyond thankful that I was here with him now.

"My parents. That's what happened," I muttered, my mood darkening slightly as I remembered the argument.

"Did they not take the news of our glorious relationship very well?" he asked, and I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Not really, no," I said, turning in his embrace and wrapping my arms around his waist.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "But your mum's letter sounded like she was okay with it."

"Yeah, she's okay with it, but my father definitely isn't." I rolled my eyes before hugging him close. I examined the walls of his room, noting the old paintings and cream wallpaper. Then I spotted something that made me gasp.

"You have got to be kidding me," I exclaimed, pulling away from him and going to examine the piece of paper I had seen. Yep, it was undeniably what I thought it was. "How did you get this?" I brandished the paper in his face, still not sure if I should be flattered or pissed that he had stolen one of my drawings.

"Well I do believe you tried to burn it, so I merely saved it from an unfortunate demise." He shrugged, as if it was the most normal thing in the world that he would take the drawing I had done of him and then burned. Or I _thought_ I had burned it, anyway.

My face burned bright red and I was beyond mortified. "Are there any others that you 'saved' from similar fates?" I demanded.

Scorpius looked wary and I narrowed my eyes at him. "Where are they?" I asked slowly. After a seconds hesitation he used his chin to gesture towards the nightstand. I walked over and opened the draw, and there they were. Five or six of them, all neatly smoothed out and stacked in the otherwise empty drawer.

"I charmed them so they can't be damaged. So don't get any ideas about unfinished business," he said, and I could hear what sounded like a hint of sadness.

I turned back to him. "I'm not going to burn them or rip them up, or whatever. I just never wanted you to know about them and now here they all are, collected in one drawer." I took a deep breath, placing the drawing I held in the drawer with the others. "So you've always known?"

I couldn't see his expression, but it was plain how he was feeling when he spoke. "Yeah, pretty much. Once I saw the first couple, it wasn't hard to fill in the blanks."

"Then why were you such a jackass?" I tried my hardest to stop my voice from shaking, but it was hard when so many different emotions were swirling though me.

"Because I didn't know how I felt. And I didn't want to keep hurting you at close range. I figured that hurting you from afar would somehow be better." His voice was closer, and I could almost feel the heat radiating from him.

"That doesn't make any damn sense," I said softly, the words not as harsh as they could have been if I had put any force behind them. My eyes filled with tears and I tried my best to blink them away. I couldn't let him see me cry like this.

"I know. I'm sorry." He reached his hand out to touch my arm but before I could decide what I wanted to do about it, there was a knock on the door.

Scorpius sighed and went to open it. I quickly swiped at my eyes with my shirt sleeve, turning to see Astoria standing in the doorway, handing Scorpius a blanket with a soft smile.

"Goodnight, Rose," she called out to me before disappearing out into the hallway. Scorp closed the door after her and placed the blanket on the bed.

"Wait, so your parents are cool with me sleeping in here?" I was completely bewildered.

"Well it's just mum here at the moment, dad's out at work still and … my sister is staying at her friend's house for the weekend." His shoulders hunched and he wouldn't meet my eyes. It took me a second to figure out why.

"You have a sister?" My voice squeaked. This had to be a joke. I had known Scorpius for six years and not once had anyone mentioned he had a _sister_ for Christ's sake.

He ruffled his hair, looking sheepish. "Yeah ... Her name's Scarlett, and she's seven."

I couldn't believe my eyes or ears. How the hell did he not tell me this before? "So you just … _forgot _to mention the fact that you have a _sister_?" I hissed at him, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I don't like discussing my family while I'm at school. I don't want to give anyone a chance to think that they know me."

"Not even with me?" I asked, feeling quite hurt by this whole situation. "I mean, it's not like you didn't have plenty of opportunities to bring it up."

"Whenever we're together, my family is the last thing on my mind, believe me." He smirked at me then, and I knew exactly what was running through his mind.

I flushed at the memories, despite my misgivings about what he had kept back from me.

Scorpius slowly stepped closer to me and brushed my hair back from my face, his fingers lingering on my skin longer than necessary. I shivered. "Look, Rose, I'm not that great at being … open with other people. Or in a relationship, for that matter." He laughed humourlessly.

I pulled away from his touch and walked to the bookshelf, pretending to study the leather covers. I couldn't think clearly when I was so close to him, and it wasn't helping with my thought processes. "I'm not interested in excuses, Scorp. A sister isn't exactly the kind of thing you just _forget_ to mention to someone!" With some distance in between us, it was easy to remember why I was angry.

"I know. I'm sorry, but you know why I don't like talking about my family. My grandparents are still … influential, and have a lot more say in our lives than what my parents pretend." He was scowling when I turned to look at him.

I turned away again just as quickly, unwilling to let his silver gaze hypnotize me into placidity again. I mean, he had a sister that he had never even mentioned before. But then as I gazed at the leather-bound numbers in front of me I realised I hadn't exactly been an open book with him, even when we had been just friends. Sure, there was nothing wrong with my family apart from their over-the-topness and various other annoying qualities, but I hadn't ever sat down with Scorpius and discussed with him about them. The majority of what he knew was what he saw at school and what Albus had mentioned over the years, not anything to do with me.

As much as I hated it, I was going to have to forgive him.

"When will your dad be home?" I asked, glancing up at Scorpius, trying to hover around the apology I knew I had to make. He shrugged and, deciding that he was perhaps out of the woods, began arranging the extra blanket on the bed. God knows why he would need it, seeing as there was already a mound of faux furs piled there, along with the pile of huge pillows.

"He'll probably be back in the early hours of the morning; Christmas is always a busy time at the Ministry, what with people trying to magically cook all those turkeys and all the relatives getting under each other's skin." He shuddered, as if the very thought of it was disturbing or scary.

I frowned. "Don't you have a Christmas party with all your relatives?" God knows it was an affair to remember at her house every damn year.

"Not really, we have a quiet family dinner, open the more sentimental and expensive gifts, then spend time together in the family room. Unfortunately dad still invites my grandparents every year, and this year my aunt and her family will be here, but that's still less people than I'm sure your family invites." He plopped down on the freshly made bed, sprawling out across it.

He looked so perfect laying there, like he was modelling home décor or something. The contrast between the dark fur of the blankets and the sheen of his platinum hair only accented the look. I was still processing the confusing night I was having, between my parents and all of this … I wandered over to the balcony doors, watching the snow slowly drift past the glass and build up on the hand-railing outside.

"Are you going to tell me about what happened with your parents?" Scorp's voice floated to me from the depths of the bed. I sighed and turned away from the outside view.

"Not tonight." I wandered over to him and slowly, drawing out every movement, climbed onto his lap. His eyebrows shot up and an amused smile played around the corners of his lips. He struggled to look only kind-of interested, but I knew from the growing hardness underneath me that he was failing miserably.

Still moving painfully slow, I trailed kisses across his jaw and down his neck, stopping only when I came to the edge of his shirt. When he realised what was stopping me, he quickly sat up and ripped the offending material off, throwing it to the floor across the room. I laughed, placing one hand on either one of his shoulders and continuing my tortuous kissing descent down his body.

As soon as I felt him beginning to press himself against me I knew I had him right where I wanted him. Each and every time he tried to switch the roles around, I would immediately stop and glare at him until he gave in again. It was empowering, really, building him up so slowly and so deliciously only to leave him hanging.

Just as I reached below his belly button, at the edge of his pj pants, I stopped, kissed him on the nose and got off him. Scorpius was so stunned, I don't think he even realised what had just happened. Then a sly, devilish smirk spread across his face and I knew I was in for it.

He lunged for me and I squealed. We landed in a heap back on the bed and before I knew it he was on top of me, caging me in, mimicking what I had been doing just ten seconds ago. He kissed my jaw, my throat, collarbones … then my shirt was gone and he was kissing the curves of my breasts, my nipples. He was teasing me exactly as I had him, and ordinarily the sounds I was making would have me flaming red in embarrassment. Now … it just seemed to be turning him on even more.

With his legs between mine, I could feel his rock-hard erection with every inch of my burning centre and I knew with every movement of his hips that if he kept this up I would be unravelling at the seams very quickly.

"Scorp … please," I moaned. I wasn't sure if he even heard me because his mouth didn't stop its relentless teasing of my nipples, but then I felt him fumbling with his pants, then mine. Before I could fully appreciate the situation, he was sliding into me in one swift movement and I was crying out in pleasure. There was nothing so sweet as that feeling of being so full and complete.

I dug my nails into his back, captured his mouth with mine and that was the end of me.

I opened my eyes to green satin and black fur. I smiled contentedly as the events of last night filtered through the sleepy haze. Then my brain continued past where I should have allowed it and remembered that I would be meeting Scorpius' dad today. Which led me to another problem: I didn't have any clean clothes to wear.

I sat up, eyes wide with my newest dilemma: what the hell was I supposed to wear in front of Draco _freaking_ Malfoy? Sure I was well acquainted with his son, and Astoria seemed pretty cool, but Draco was another story entirely.

I was just beginning to completely freak out when I heard a muffled groan beside me. Before I could even look over at Scorpius, a tan arm snaked around my waist and pulled me backwards into the depths of his arms. I laughed, worries temporarily forgotten. He nuzzled his nose into the space between my neck and shoulder, squeezing me tightly.

"You're so breath-taking in the morning," he murmured. A tingle went through me, my heart swelling. "Especially when you're naked." I heard the grin in his voice and couldn't help but laugh at him again. He pressed a kiss to my shoulder, loosening his grip on me. I took this as an opportunity to get up, extracting myself from his arms.

As soon as I was standing, the cool air hits my over-heated body, making me shiver. Then I remember my impending meeting, and therefore clothing issue.

I dug out a fresh pair of underwear from my bag. "What should I wear?" I asked Scorpius over my shoulder. "I didn't bring any changes of clothes."

"What are you talking about? Just wear something of mine," he grumbled, face-down in his pillow.

I gaped at his exposed back. "Aren't I meeting your dad this morning? And your mum will be there too. I can't just go around wearing your clothes, that's not obvious _at all_ that we're having sex!"

Scorp groaned, rolling over and propping himself up on his elbows. He fixed me with a disinterested look before his face morphed into a giant grin. I glared at him for a second before realising that aside from my panties, I was completely naked, and he was quite un-ashamedly staring at my chest.

"You're disgusting. And _so_ not helpful." I located my bra and camisole, then began digging around in draws to try and find something half-respectable for me to wear in front of his parents. Scorp chuckled and joined me on the quest for clean clothes.

An hour later we were making our way downstairs. I was filled with nerves at meeting his dad for the first time and seeing his mum again. Scorp smiled at me and reassuringly squeezed my hand as he led me through to what appeared to be the family room.

Let me just say that first impressions are everything, and I was instantly put at ease. Astoria – honey blonde hair let down in loose waves around her shoulders, was sitting on the couch with her legs curled up under her, eating what looked like _toast_ and watching some cartoon on the TV to the left of the room. That sight alone was enough to bring me up short; it was a completely different perspective from the elegant, neatly made-up lady from the night before.

Then I noticed Draco, rumpled blond hair exactly the same shade as Scorp's, sitting at a desk, nursing a mug of steaming coffee and reading a thick novel. He was wearing casual jeans and a t-shirt and immediately I felt like an idiot for stressing about what I would wear in front of him.

"Hey mum, dad," Scorpius greeted casually, pulling me gently into the room properly. I tried to stay half behind him, but I knew I wasn't going to get away with it when I heard Astoria reply.

"Good morning Scorp. Rose! Are you hungry? There's coffee if you want any." And she was smiling at me with such happiness that I just knew that I was going to grow to love her.

I smiled shyly, "That toast does look pretty good." I glance up to see Draco has stood up from his seat and was moving towards me. Scorpius moved away to give his mum a hand with coffee and toast and I almost panicked.

"Hello Rose. I don't believe we've met," Draco said, holding his hand out to me. "I'm Draco. It's so good to have you here, Scorp has been talking about you constantly." He smiled easily, and I saw no hint of deception in his grey eyes that were so like his son's.

"Has he really?" I ask, glancing at Scorpius.

He shrugged noncommittedly, winking at me.

The next day, I met Scorp's sister. She was a tiny version of Astoria, complete with emerald green eyes and honey blonde hair. She had this infectious laugh that made everyone who heard it laugh along with her. She also seemed to have already heard quite a lot about me and wasted no time in letting me know.

It was perfect, but I knew my parents were worrying about me, so I sent them a letter explaining where I was and that they should know why. I received a rather angry letter from my father, but then an apologetic one from mum, making excuses for him like usual. I didn't reply to either of them, not feeling as though I had anything else to explain to them.

Scorpius spent every minute of each day with me, showing me around his huge house, telling me about his family's rather impressive lineage (which he rolled his eyes at) and basically entertaining me in every way he could. And I mean _every _way. I hoped his parent's bedroom was very, very far away from his.

Then before I knew it, it was Christmas Eve, and we were relaxing in the family room as the sun set outside and snow began falling again. Tonight there was a family dinner being held here and Scorpius made absolutely sure I didn't feel nervous about it. That morning, Astoria had presented me with a gorgeous silver gown that I was to wear to the dinner that night. I tried to make excuses as to why I couldn't possibly accept it but had to give in when she pointed out that I couldn't exactly wear one of Scorpius' suits.

I was curled up on the couch, watching the growing darkness outside, a content smile on my face. Then Scorpius was there, having returned from wherever he had hurried off to.

"Come on, I want to show you something," Scorp murmured in my ear, taking my hand and leading me towards the French doors at the end of the room.

"It had better be good, I was comfortable," I said teasingly, a happy warmth spreading throughout my body. It had been the best few days of my existence and I was happy to be distracted from the pain of having to leave the next day. I had told my parents I would be returning for Christmas Day, seeing as it was a family occasion, and we had to return to school the next day.

Scorpius led me through the doors and out into the garden. I saw hundreds of different plants and shrubs, all lightly covered with soft white snow. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and with Scorpius' warm hand in mine, I would have walked forever through this wonderful garden with him.

Twinkling fairy lights were twined throughout the branches of the sturdier plants, leading the way for us as he pulled me further into the snowy wonderland.

He came to a halt, however, at the steps of a magnificently build structure. Leading me up the stairs, he smiled at me softly, an expression I almost didn't recognise in his eyes, which would have scared me if I wasn't so completely caught up in his spell. Standing in the middle of the platform, the snow directed away from us by a peaked roof, I could imagine myself coming here every day, gazing out at the flowers and the beautiful architecture of the mansion.

"It's beautiful," I told Scorpius, genuinely smiling at him while squeezing his hand.

"As are you," he replied, making me laugh. He continued, rummaging in his pockets as he spoke, "Which is why I wanted to give you this."

From the pocket of his coat he pulled out a white square box. I almost freaked out before I noticed the largeness of the box and significantly relaxed. How could I think it was a ring? We had only just started dating!

Scorpius offered the box for me to take it. It was heavier than I expected, which concerned me a little. I didn't recognise the elegant gold lettering on the lid, but it was clearly jewellery and judging from the weight it was seriously expensive.

Mentally preparing myself, I slowly lifted the lid and gasped. Laid on black velvet was a silver and gold bracelet, laden with charms of every kind. There were hearts and diamonds and what looked suspiciously like sapphires glinting from here and there.

"So do you like it?" Scorpius asked cautiously and I realised I had been doing nothing but staring at the bracelet.

I laughed and nodded vigorously, "I love it! Thank you." Without even thinking to, I leaned closer and kissed him softly.

"A beautiful bracelet for a beautiful girl," he murmured against my lips. I flushed red, beyond flattered by the present and the obvious thought he had put into it.

"Oh my god, I totally forgot! I didn't have time to get anything for you before I left. Well I didn't think I would see you until we went back to school anyway, but I'm so sorry." I felt so bad that he had bought something that was clearly more expensive than my parent's whole house, and I hadn't got him anything.

He laughed softly. "It's fine, Rose. I was going to give this to you for your birthday instead, but seeing as you're here now, I thought it would be better."

I bit my lip, overwhelmed by the intensity of the moment. I struggled with what to possibly say. "It means a lot," I finally settled with.

Scorp grinned at me, wrapping his arms around my waist and tugging me close. He kissed me softly, successfully wiping my mind blank. By the time he pulled away, I was breathless and more than a little tuned on. But then his next words forced me in a completely different direction.

"I love you, you know," he said quietly, holding my gaze with him own. He didn't seem embarrassed, or semi-confident. He was stating a fact, and he was one hundred per cent sure of himself.

With his certainty, it was almost too easy to smile at him, "I love you too."

**Hopefully I have straightened out the mistakes I made in earlier chapters. The implication of **_**something **_**more is always there and I never actually say they had/hadn't slept together. **

**Hope you're enjoying so far and please let me know what you think :) **

**I have a surprise for the next chapter, and reviews will make me post it faster ;)**


	10. A Malfoy Christmas (Scorpius' POV)

**So, I wasn't really feeling the motivation to write this chapter just yet, but then I was reading previous reviews and my heart was swelling so much with happiness over what people said that I just had to update. plus I realised how long it's been since the last chapter and decided it was about time ^.^ Thank you to those who reviewed! **

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**Scorpius' POV**

It was strapless. And long. The clingy fabric shimmered subtly in the candle light, throwing off darts of light whenever she moved. The modestly-cut dress showed the perfect amount of cleavage, although the low back did have me worried about what I might do in front of my family. Gods know I barely have self-control around her as it is.

After coming inside with our cheesy grins still plastered on our faces, mum gently reminded Rose and I that we should be preparing for dinner.

So now here I was, standing in my penguin suit in the middle of my room, staring at Rose with such astonishment that I'm fairly sure my mouth was hanging open. She was the most gorgeous woman I had ever seen, and I couldn't even begin to comprehend how happy I was that she was mine.

"Scorp, stop staring. I look ridiculous," Rose said, blushing as I unashamedly continued to stare. She rolled her eyes at me – those beautiful sky blue eyes that had me so captivated every time she deigned to look at me.

"You're breathtaking," I told her, smirking as I began to imagine all the things I would be doing to her tonight.

I was so completely and irrevocably in love with her, and now I finally knew for a fact that she loved me too. As I led Rose through the hallways and downstairs, I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt and self-disgust at how I treated her so poorly in the past. Even if she had forgiven me, I knew I had damaged her, although hopefully not beyond repair.

I felt her hand on my arm tighten. Glancing down at her, I saw she wasn't looking at me, her eyes were fixed on the ajar door to the dining room. A murmur of voices filtered through to us, indicating that my aunt was already here.

"It'll be fine, Rose. _You'll _be fine. You look beautiful," I tried to reassure her. In the two seconds that her eyes flashed to mine, I knew she didn't believe me.

"That's easy for you to say. Just imagine if it was my family you were about to meet. In this ridiculous dress, no less." She wrinkled her nose, but it was obvious she felt perfectly at home in the silver material. It really did fit her perfectly, and I knew for a fact that that was not something my mother would ever wear – meaning she had gone and bought it specially for Rose. Well it was nice to know she approved of my choice in girlfriend.

"In case you've forgotten, I _have _met your family," I pointed out, knowing at the same time that she wasn't really listening.

The dining room was plenty big enough for this small get together of people, but somehow I knew that Rose was feeling claustrophobic with so many eyes suddenly on her.

"Rose! Scorpius!" My Mother's voice drew our attention to the centre of a cluster of women. "You both look absolutely lovely. Please, come over here and I'll introduce everyone." She beamed at us and I refrained from rolled my eyes.

In her willingness to help Rose feel more comfortable, Mum was simultaneously putting her in the most uncomfortable position she possibly could. Because, obviously, _I_ already knew everyone here. This was for Rose's benefit.

To my surprise, Rose didn't seem to be becoming more nervous, or showing any signs of wanting to jump out the window. "Come on, Scorp," she whispered. "Let's get this over an done with." She smiled up at me and for a moment I was lost in those eyes, so intelligent but so beautifully young and innocent at the same time.

"Okay." I said and leaning down, surprised her with a kiss. It was soft and full of love. When I pulled away, I couldn't help the smirk that spread across my face when I saw the brilliant flush adorning her cheeks.

I led her over to my family and introductions were made. I barely paid attention to any of it, watching Rose slowly grow confident in herself as, perhaps, her last fears about my family faded away.

* * *

"Oh man, my feet are killing me," Rose complained as she plopped down onto my bed. Just as soon as she had done so, she was removing the offending shoes. When they were a safe distance away, she lay back on the bed with a sigh.

I watched her, glad I had this opportunity to _finally_ admire that dress of hers in privacy. "Did you enjoy it? Meeting everyone, I mean," I asked casually as I removed my tie and jacket.

"Mmhmm," she hummed, unwilling to move from the bed. "The food was good, too."

"I wouldn't know, I had a hard enough time just keeping my eyes off of you."

She shot up from the bed, surprised, and visibly swallowed when she saw the hungry grin on my face. A slow smirk turned her whole face from shocked to devilish.

"It is quite a nice dress, isn't it?" she sighed, lowering her lashes.

"It'll look better on the floor," I growled, and lunged.

* * *

A few hours later, Rose was fast asleep, exhausted from the long night and my relentless need to pleasure her. Sleep had evaded me, so I stood by the window, aimlessly flicking through an old textbook I'd plucked off the bookshelf.

Potions had been my favourite subject the year before, when Rose and I had actually been friends and was willing to work together. There had been a group project that we were a part of, and as such we were required to spend time outside of class in order to finish it.

There had been one particular day where the two of us were sitting in the library and, having given up on the studying, were whispering and laughing about something amusing that had happened that day.

I remembered that after being told off by Madame Pince, we had had to resort to scribbling on a piece of paper to thereafter avoid her notice. The giggling still earned us glares, though. I paged through the book, half hoping that I would find what I was looking for. Ah, there it was. A loose piece of parchment was wedged between two pages, ironed flat after being in the book for so long. I opened it, and had to smile as I read the notes.

_Did you see what happened to Julie Hopkins today?_

_**How that snargaluff plant attacked her in Herbology? Yeah!**_

_The way she squealed, it sounded like it had killed her._

_**Oh Madame Sprout was so mad because we aren't supposed to be dealing with those until next year!**_

_Come on, you saw her laughing! She thought it was just as funny as we did._

_**Yeah just before she realised it almost took Julie's eye out!**_

_I'm sure Madame Pomfrey could have fixed that.._

_**Hah!**_

_Hey Rose.._

_**Yeah?**_

_Would it be okay if I kissed you now?_

I turned the page over, but there wasn't anything else. I remembered Rose being shocked when she'd read my last comment, and I remembered the way she looked so beautiful when she'd turned to me so confused, her lips parted slightly.. And I'd kissed her, quickly but firmly, and by the time Pince looked at us again, we had been hard at work. I seem to also remember wondering if she could see the blush spreading across Rose's face.

It had all started after that. I had made it my goal to sneak in as many kisses as I possibly could before she decided to punch me in the face or shot some awful jinx at me. Neither of those things happened however, and before I knew it we had been going down to my dorm room after a common room party one night… That's when everything changed.

I frowned. How could I have been so stupid as to push her into something like that? I knew she'd liked me, and I'd played on that. The question that bothered me the most was had I liked her? To this day I still didn't fully know. I knew I loved her now, but I didn't know what that had happened. It could have happened in our second year for all I knew.

I had acted like such a jerk afterwards, suddenly ignoring her and treating her like nothing had ever happened. I knew it had hurt her, but it wasn't until she punched me after I had attempted to kiss her again that it hit me. Then she wouldn't speak to me _or _Albus and I realised how much I'd fucked up.

"Scorp?" My head jerked up. Rose was lying on the bed, propped up on her elbows and blinking at me. "What are you doing all the way over there?" she asked sleepily, somehow not even noticing the fact that her chest was gloriously bare and exposed. Or maybe she just didn't care anymore.

I put the parchment back in the book and carefully replaced it on the bookshelf. I climbed back into bed and wrapped my arms around Rose. She snuggled close to me and I felt my heart constrict as I remembered how much pain I'd caused her.

Never ever again, I promised myself. My arms tightened protectively around her and she subconsciously hummed into my throat.

I'd never loved anyone more than I loved her, and I was not going to let her forget that. Or myself.

* * *

The Christmas morning sun dawned over freshly-fallen snow, which covered absolutely everything that wasn't under shelter.

Rose took one look at it and crawled back into bed.

I stared at her incredulously. "What are you doing? It's time to go open presents!"

"I hate the damn cold," she grumbled.

"Oh really?" A devious grin spread over my face and reaching underneath the covers, grabbed hold of her and pulled her out and over my shoulder.

"Scorpius!" she squealed, playfully hitting her fists against my back.

"Nope. It's present-opening time, and _you_ are attending." I set her on her feet again a few metres away, keeping myself firmly between her and the bed.

She glared up at me and I was reminded of an angry kitten. The thought made me chuckle, but that only seemed to infuriate her further. With a huff she began to dress – in my clothes again, I might add – and disappeared out the door before I could even find my jeans.

I found her downstairs in the family room, where my sister Scarlett was already picking out the first present she wanted to open from under the Christmas tree. That damn tree, which all of us had painstakingly decorated a few weeks ago, had multiple mounds of wrapped boxes underneath. Most of them, unsurprisingly, were for my spoiled little sister.

"Do you want a coffee?" I asked Rose, seeing that she wasn't annoyed anymore.

"Sure, thanks." She flashed me a quick smile before returning to watching Scarlett sift through the ribboned piles and trading ideas with her over what could be in them.

I found mum and dad in the kitchen. Mum was setting about arranging a breakfast tray – complete with diced fruits, mini quiches, buttered croissants and pumpkin juice. I was a little surprised to see she was still in her silk pyjamas, but I figured that was a good thing: it meant she was comfortable with Rose seeing her like that. Usually nothing less than perfect was suitable when guests were present.

"Morning," I said to them as I went about the task of brewing fresh coffee.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Mum said. I ducked my head so she could kiss me on the cheek as she walked past with the tray.

"How did she find last night's festivities?" Dad asked, munching on a croissant with a glass of milk in hand.

"Slightly uncomfortable, but overall I think it quietened some of her misgivings," I said truthfully, knowing that he would understand and not get offended.

"I can't imagine how I would be feeling if I was in her shoes, I mean, I grew up knowing the difference between dessert spoon and soup spoon, but I think even I would feel intimidated with meeting the family for the first time." Dad looked vaguely interested, as if he was really trying to imagine himself in Rose's position.

"I don't even know the difference between those spoons, I always ignore them when Grandmother comes over and insists Mum use them," I said. Dad snorted and left to join the others.

As I waited for the coffee to heat, I stared off out the kitchen window. The winter wonderland from last night was still there, but looked decidedly less romantic than it had the night before with Rose.

I couldn't help but remember the nervous look that had been on her face when I gave her the bracelet. Of course I knew she loved it – she said as much herself – but I wondered if perhaps it was too much. Or maybe she had been expecting something different? I frowned as I poured coffee into two mugs.

I'd never really thought seriously about marriage before, it had always been something that was arranged in my family, although mum and dad would never try forcing that on me, or Scarlett. And even though it had worked out the best for them, arranged marriages weren't about love.

I loved Rose, that much was obvious, but could I see myself marrying her?

"Scorp?" I jumped slightly and turned to see Rose poking her head around the door frame. "Scarlett's getting impatient because she wants to open presents but your mum says to wait for you." She smiled, her eyes crinkling slightly and looking more beautiful than I had ever seen her.

It was in that moment that I could definitely see myself being with her for the rest of my life. I just wasn't sure if she felt the same.

I forced a laugh and passed her her coffee. "I'm coming now."


End file.
